Baptism of Fire
by Nate Grey
Summary: Before there was Kim or Shego, there was only a girl with two minds and one fate.  A challenge fic.  Complete.
1. Default Chapter

Note: This is, if I decide to turn it into a series, a possible answer to a challenge issued over on the KP Slash Haven board. The challenge was to somehow make it so that Kim and Shego shared a body, or were originally one person, something like that. Confused me at first, too. But here's the result. Helps if you've seen "Go Team Go." Credit to swk3000 for issuing the challenge.

Summary: Before there was Kim, or Shego, there was only a girl, with two minds and one fate.

**Baptism of Fire**

**A Kim Possible Fanfic by**

**Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

The brothers ignored her, as they usually did.

Never mind it was her desire to have a place to call her own. Never mind that she was the one that had pleaded for months on end, gradually wearing down their father until he agreed. Never mind that she was the only one that had actually helped him build it, breaking three nails and smashing a thumb in the process. Never mind that she was the only one that had ever bothered to clean it up when a mess was left.

The tree house still belonged, in every since of the word, to the brothers.

They were no longer her brothers, not after that final betrayal. What was to have been her dream house was now their fort. She was only allowed in under the strictest rules: she was not to talk or play with them, as she would ruin it with her girliness.

Oh, how quickly they forgot.

Who was it that had taken the blame when Hank had busted the window in their father's favorite car with an ill-timed baseball?

Who was it that had kicked Roy Thomas in the gut when he'd taken Merlin's lunch money for the last time?

And who was it that had sat up all night with Wallace and Wayne when they'd both been too sickly to even get out of bed?

All these things, these sacrifices, these acts of love had gone unrewarded, unappreciated, and after a short time, unremembered. And still they insisted on taking from her, sometimes things she would've given willingly, if only they had the decency to ask.

But still, because she wasn't the firstborn, she remained the little sister, even though she'd been born second. Everyone conveniently forgot that when push came to shove, she could have Hank on the ground screaming for their mother in five seconds flat, if she wanted. But all that served to do was get her punished, as well as distance her from her siblings even more. So she let Hank think he was top dog, simply because there wasn't much choice.

That still didn't excuse his part in the taking of her dream house, though. She had decided long ago that even the twins weren't innocent. Even as the youngest, they had two votes in every matter, enough at least to tie, and yet they always agreed with Hank. The little traitors never once stopped to consider her feelings, and Merlin only ever thought about himself, anyway.

She hated them all. They didn't even have the decency to acknowledge her hatred; she was just part of the scenery to them.

Having no one to play with or talk to, she had eventually begun talking and playing with herself. An invisible friend was just childish, and she was not a child. She had ceased being a child when her brothers had taken her childhood from her in that swift, cruel, thoughtless act of swiping her dream house.

At first, there had only been the anger. When they hurt her, she lashed out instinctively, and ended up breaking Hank's nose three separate times. But then there had been talk of sending her away, so she'd found it necessary to find another outlet. She discovered that there was a part of her that didn't really want to hurt her brothers...although it had no problem defending itself if they drove her to it. Both sides seemed to have a certain flare for aggression, so no matter who was in control, a good beating was almost guaranteed.

It got to the point where the boys were afraid of her. Too afraid to even tell their parents, which pleased her to no end. Certainly, she could've gotten her way all the time, but someone would've noticed. Instead, she cherished the small victories: taking over the TV when her favorite shows were on, being first to use the bathroom every day, and of course, barging into the dream house whenever she wanted and retreating to her own private corner. There was nothing they could do, and she enjoyed watching them feel powerless.

It wasn't enough, but it was a start.

Even now, as she watched them play some stupid boy game in their side of the dream house, she wondered why she couldn't have been born into any other family. Maybe one where she was the oldest, where her parents had to appreciate her talents, and her younger siblings had no choice but to submit to her will. In return, she would gladly defend them from any and all bullies, and they would love and respect her, as any sibling should. That was the real dream house, what this one had been a symbol of, and what the boys had taken away from her.

That was what she hated the most: that they'd destroyed her dream without even realizing it, because not one of them ever stopped to consider the fact that as a fellow human being, she had dreams just like they did.

Sometimes, she wished for death. Not just for them, because they didn't deserve it, but for the entire family. She'd met an odd boy at school, and he had told her all about reincarnation. Frankly, she liked the idea. If everyone in her family could die and come back as a better person, maybe they'd all be better off. With any luck, not one would be related to the others this time around. Hank would end up as a little brother that got picked on by his big sister. Merlin would be an older brother and have to suffer his parents lavishing attention on a younger sibling. Wallace would be an only child, as would Wayne, because they simply depended on each other way too much. And she would finally get her dream house, with the best family one could hope for.

She looked out of the window, noticing that the sky seemed exceptionally bright today. That was good. If it had been raining, she would've only felt worse. Although, in rain, none of them would've been allowed in the dream house, so at least the boys' fun would've been spoiled. And the dream house wasn't so much fun for her now as it was a place to brood and plot, so that was fine.

At some point, she became aware of something hurtling through the sky, heading in their direction. It almost seemed to swirl like a rainbow. 'Death,' she thought. 'It's death from above, and now we'll all be reincarnated into the people we should've been all along.' A smile appeared on her face. 'And I'll finally get my dream house.'

She glanced back at the boys, and found they hadn't noticed, as usual. It was just as well. She didn't want any of them trying to run away.

By now, the object in the sky was even closer. Maybe she was imagining it, but it seemed to be a little warmer in the dream house now. That was no matter, so long as the end result was the desired one.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable end, waiting for the boys to get the ultimate comeuppance, waiting to be taken to her real dream house, the one she'd truly been meant for.

Now she could feel the heat all around her, and she loved it. The fire poked, prodded, brushed, and finally embraced every inch of her skin, and she welcomed it with open arms.

"Take me first," she whispered to it. "Take me to my dream house, where I belong."

The fire apparently agreed, because it gave her a terrific shove, tossing her the length of the dream house, slamming her head into the wooden wall, and dropping her to the floor. As she began to black out, she heard the boys, for the first time that she could remember, screaming her name in concern. 'Too late,' she thought. 'Too little, too late, you bunch of stinking traitors. I hate you. I'll always hate you. And I hope none of us ever see each other again.'

* * *

There was no dream house when she woke up. There were new people, all dressed in white, but no dream house.

Her father was there, holding her hand and speaking to one of the people in white, asking about her skin. Why was he asking about her skin?

She felt hollow on the inside, but she couldn't figure out why.

The man in white was telling her father something. Something about melanin loss, she wasn't sure, exactly.

If her father was here, that meant her plan hadn't worked. She'd failed. No dream house. Maybe not ever.

'No fair,' she thought. 'I want my dream house! That's all I want!'

Feeling hurt, confused, and weak, she turned to the only real source of comfort she'd ever had: the side of her that spoke more often with reason and good intentions and soft voices.

Only it wasn't there.

The anger rose up in her quickly. Where was her other half? She needed it! She demanded it! Without it, she wasn't a whole person! Without it, she'd have no one to talk to! Without it...she'd been even more lonely, because now she was a freak, and everyone, not just her brothers, would ignore her.

Her father was asking about treatment, perhaps some kind of tanning solution.

She thought of the fire, and wondered why it hadn't granted her wish. Why had it done this to her? Why had it stolen her other half? Had she been unworthy? Had offering herself and the boys not been enough?

The man in white was suggesting mental and physical therapy, to deal with the trauma.

She looked to the left, and happened to catch her reflection in the mirrored wall. It was long time before she even noticed her new, pale skin. All she could see at first was that her eyes weren't as green as she remembered. They seemed dull to her, lifeless, even empty. She could see the places where her other half had filled in and given her a brilliant emerald shine in the rare occasions when she was happy.

She closed her eyes, trying to wish it all away, asking for the fire to come again and correct its mistake. And when she opened her eyes, her hands were on fire. Not that she could feel it.

Her father, however, had jerked away and was beating out the flames along his arm.

The room was doused in tiny but strong streams of water, but still the fire on her hands burned, refusing to be put out.

'You'll stay with me,' she thought to it. 'You'll be my other half, won't you?'

The fire did not answer her, and her anger rose up again.

'We have no other half now. She is gone, or dead. All we have is me. I won't let anyone else hurt us. Not ever again.'

She nodded, and let her anger step forward, even as the fire on her hands burned brighter, stronger than before. The girl looked at her father, who was staring at her in horror and wonder, and the man in white, who had fainted.

'I'm alone now. All I have is me. All I NEED is me. I will get my dream house. Anyone who gets in my way will just have to answer to the fire.'

Yes. She liked that last idea very, very much.

* * *

Endnotes: Far as I know, Team Go has no alter ego names, so I just made up names for them. I can see now I'll have to continue this, if for no other reason than to satisfy myself. 


	2. The Hammer of Hephaestus

Notes: Everyone's so curious how Kim fits into this. Not to worry, I have it all planned out. Well, I'm winging it, mostly. Uh…forget I said that…

Chapter 2: The Hammer of Hephaestus

It was probably not one of her smarter decisions, but she was starving, and he was paying, and what could one outrageously expensive meal hurt?

She, of course, would still be considered a girl in some places, barely a woman in others, and just shy of legal pretty much everywhere else. But when you dared to walk around with skin that pale and a scowl that big, most people just got out of the way and assumed you knew what you were doing. She had been pleasantly surprised to learn that this also applied to police, and more often than she would've expected.

But when this odd little man had bumped into her in a dark alley, he had not seen her (true) age, her pale skin, or her baggy clothes. What he had seen, she still wasn't sure, but he was apparently inclined to treat it to a nice dinner. If he was expecting sex, she had a feeling they would both be sorely disappointed, but for entirely different reasons.

Really, she had only gone with him because he was blue. Literally. Even when he'd flashed her that pitiful excuse for a manic grin, she still couldn't get the image of a slightly deranged Smurf named Screwloose out of her head. He could still turn out to be a jerk, but for the moment, at least, he had proven to be a slightly amusing one.

Also, he was paying, she reminded herself again, shoveling yet another spoonful of rice into her mouth. She flicked her gaze up at him momentarily, feigning interest, and then focused once more on the rice as he continued to rant about this incredible job offer of his. He'd said everything she needed to hear by that point, and now she was mostly humoring him and tuning him out at the same time. Assuming his mouth ever closed for more than three seconds, she was thinking of telling him yes.

But it wasn't as if she had a choice. She'd been wandering the streets for a whole week now, hitching rides when she could, and then simply taking them by force when she got hungry, dirty, and more hungry. Despite that, she didn't once regret leaving her brothers. She was amazed that she'd managed to stay as long as she had without clawing each of their eyes out.

If Blue Guy was serious about this job, though, maybe she could even get paid to get rid of them. It wasn't as if she couldn't, after all. The fools would welcome her back with open arms (except Mego, anyway), even after she'd kicked Hego square in the gut on her way out. She was almost sure he'd felt it, too.

Her spoon struck an empty bowl, and she realized that was at least six she'd put away now. She was no longer hungry, but her stomach, fearing it might have to go another few days without food, gurgled angrily at her and insisted that she ask for more. But she chose to ignore it, for now. She grabbed a napkin, scribbled a nice, round figure on it, and stuck a dollar sign in front before shoving it in Blue Guy's face in mid-rant.

"This is how much it'll cost you to keep me for a year," she explained. "It's extra if you expect me to stay anywhere without mattresses, running water, cable TV, and food."

Blue Guy frowned, but not furiously so. "You drive a hard bargain, my dear. But I estimate that you are worth such a high price. Tell me, do you accept...cash?" He made as if to wipe his mouth, but did it with nearly ten thousand in cash.

She grinned at him. "I can see we're going to get along fine. Two things, though. You ever heard of Team Go?"

He blinked. "Who?"

"Never mind. Second, you need a new name."

"What?" he demanded. "You don't even know my old one...I mean, my current one!"

She smiled patiently. "Okay, hotshot. What is it?"

"Dr. Drew Lipsky," he said proudly.

Her smiled didn't fade in the slightest. "Yeah, we're not using that. Try again."

He glared at her. "Now, see here! YOU work for ME! I give the orders, and you follow them! There won't be anymore of this insubordination! I won't stand for it!"

"Good thing you're sitting, then. Look, I think I know a little more about being bad than you do."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because when you found me, you offered to buy me dinner. A bad guy would've beaten me within an inch of my life, and then told me I was his slave. But from what I've seen, you're paying me to do that for you."

His blue skin paled considerably.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hit you…now. You are paying me, after all, and I haven't been around you long enough to know where you keep your bank books."

"HA! They're all up here!" he chuckled, tapping his forehead.

"Then I'll have them by tomorrow morning," she predicted boldly. "Here's how it's going to work. I can follow orders. But you tell me something I don't like, I'll make a suggestion. You don't listen, I'll suggest a little more strongly. You still don't listen, I TELL you what we're doing next. Got it?"

"I don't think I like where this is going," Lipsky muttered.

She rolled her eyes. "You said you needed a bodyguard. But you don't exactly have someone to protect you from me, do you? So I think I'm showing a whole lot of restraint by not beating your brains in and running off with your money. You keep that in mind the next time you think about doing something stupid." She paused and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Great. Hope you're happy. Now I have a headache."

Lipsky casually moved his hand along his leg, reaching for the blaster he always kept concealed there. Only instead of cool, hard metal, his hand found another hand already there.

"In case you were wondering," she growled in his ear, yanking his head back by his ponytail, "I am NOT coming onto you."

"Now now, there's no need to be hasty, my dear," Lipsky chuckled nervously.

"Exactly what I was going to tell you, 'boss'. So why don't you take care of the check while I go powder my nose?"

"I think...that would be best."

"I knew you would." She released him and stormed off, wondering yet again just why she was putting up with this.

* * *

Drew Lipsky (or Dr. Drakken, as he insisted on later being called) turned out to be a rather wise choice, as far as business associates went. He was highly imaginative, to the point where most police forces just weren't prepared to deal with his nefariously twisted plans. She couldn't really blame them, though; she worked for the man, and half the time she was surprised (but not impressed) by the things he came up with.

And it wasn't just that he was a regular source of amusement for her, but that his plans actually worked most of the time. In the few instances they didn't, the mistakes were immediately singled out and either fixed or discarded entirely. It was an efficient way to run a business (even an evil one), as was made obvious by the regular increases in pay she was getting. When Drakken was in a really good mood, he gave her raises without thinking (not that she ever complained). Soon her salary had nearly tripled, and she was hardly even doing anything other than hacking an alarm system here, busting up a few rent-a-cops there. The fact that she didn't deserve the raises (or at least hadn't earned them) crossed her mind a few times, but apparently not Drakken's.

Things were going so...well. Surprisingly so. She had even stopped thinking of this as a temporary job, or a stepping stone to some other opportunity. More than once, she had assured herself that she could continue to work with Drakken years down the road. Sure, he was certifiably nuts, and his henchmen could've stood some improvement, but that was why he needed her so badly in the first place.

Maybe that was why things eventually went so very wrong.

* * *

The factory robbery was going exactly as planned. The henchmen were busy loading the components Drakken needed for a charged particle cannon he was building, while Shego was supervising and keeping an eye out for any unwelcome interruptions...not that she expected any.

So when she first spotted the huge pink rat scurrying toward her, Shego's first instinct was to turn it into a pink smear on the floor. One of the henchmen might see it and get distracted at the very least. Better to get it out of the way right then.

She was not expecting the rat to stop, raise up on its hind legs, and wave at her with its forepaws, squeaking something that sounded disturbingly like, "Hi!"

Before she could question what she was seeing, a voice she hadn't heard in what seemed like ages spoke into her mind.

_'Can you say distraction?'_

Instantly, Shego was a frustrated, frightened girl of ten again, surrounded by a quartet of useless boys, and missing that rarely heard, but oh so integral peaceful half that had more than once kept her from throttling them all as they slept.

Predictably, she had mixed feelings when said half drove its feet into the back of her head, sending her tumbling into a shipping crate.

"I don't know who you are," said the voice as Shego quickly made it to her feet, "but the crime spree ends here."

_'It can't be her,'_ Shego's mind insisted, dreading what she would see if she turned around. _'It just can't be. She's gone. She's DEAD!'_

_'No, you lost her,'_ her mind answered itself. _'She's alive.'_

_'But she can't be! She was mine! She still IS!'_

_'Seems like she's her own person now. Take a look.'_

Shego finally worked up enough nerve to spin around. She locked gazes with a set of familiar green eyes, and in that instant, she knew for sure that this was what she'd missed, staring at her reflection in the hospital so many years ago.

"You...you're mine," Shego whispered in a quivering voice.

The teenage girl blinked, clearly not expecting that. But she recovered quickly, just as Shego had. "Hmmph. You could at least buy me dinner first." Her body tensed up, falling naturally into a martial arts stance.

Even as her lips twisted into a snarl, Shego's mind was screaming at her.

_'Wait! I can't fight her! I can't hurt her! She's mine! She's ME!'_

Her mind, however, had not gone all these years at half efficiency, though. Since the day that Shego had become one mental voice lighter, she had subconsciously been compensating for it, in order to keep several steps ahead of that inevitable nervous breakdown. The result was that instead of having one angry voice and one peaceful voice, she now listened to one angry voice and one voice that was marginally slower to anger. The trouble was, they both sounded like her, and she'd gotten so used to listening to them that being angry was nearly a hobby for her. So it didn't surprise her at all when that angry voice kicked in with its own solution.

_'There's no other way! Knock her out now, sort out the pieces later!'_

A primal yell flew from Shego's mouth as she launched herself at the girl, half of her wanting to knock her foe into next week, and the other half wanting lock her in a smothering embrace until they were one again. The former half won out in the end, smashing through the girl's defenses and landing a hard straight arm punch to the cheek that sent her crashing to the ground.

Shego was panting as she closed in again, her eyes blazing with fury and need. "You won't get away," she swore, flexing her fingers anxiously. "I won't let you. I can't!"

The girl scrambled backwards as best she could, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief, but not fear. Clearly, she was not used to being bested so easily.

Clearly, she had never run into her other half, either.

"This ends now." Shego reached down and grabbed the girl's black shirt, hauling her up by the collar. She hesitated only for an instant when those green eyes came so close to her own, but it was enough.

A pink blur shot out of the girl's hair and latched painfully onto Shego's nose.

Shego screamed in outrage as she tore that same pink rat off and threw it as hard as she could.

The girl gasped. "Rufus!" She executed a spectacular diving catch, clapping the rat in her gloved hands as she landed hard on the floor, the breath rushing out of her.

Shego was tempted to rush forward and kick the rat to bits, but the tiny earpiece she was wearing buzzed.

"Shego! We're done here," Drakken snapped. "Wrap up whatever you're doing!"

She only barely suppressed another snarl as the girl winced, her hand flying to her now wounded side. The rat chittered with concern, running down her extended arm to nuzzle against her cheek. Both of them froze as Shego took a step forward.

It would only take a second, Shego reasoned, ignoring the throbbing pain in her nose, as well as the blood dripping from it. She could stomp out the rat, grab the girl, and vanish into the night with ease. All of her questions would be answered, and maybe she could finally stop wondering what it would be like to be a complete, whole person again.

The rat planted itself directly in front of the girl, growling as menacingly as it could. It would've been funny, if not for the panicked look in the girl's eyes.

_'She's afraid,'_ Shego realized with a start. _'Afraid of what I'll do. She's afraid of me. She was never afraid of me before.'_

_'Things are different now. She's been away too long. Just grab her and go!'_

_'No. Not like this. We'll never be one if I do that. She'll never trust me enough.'_

_'Forget trust! She belongs to you! WITH you! GRAB HER!'_

_'...I can't.'_

"Shego!" Drakken shouted in her ear, but not from the earpiece. He was standing right next to her now. "What is the meaning of-" He trailed off upon spotting the girl. "So this is what kept you. Well, that's easily taken care of."

Shego's eyes widened as Drakken reached into his dark blue suit. She had seen him do everything from turn guards into brainless buffoons to leaving police officers trembling from hallucinations. The thought of him doing anything to harm the girl was too much to even consider.

Her hand shot out, grabbing Drakken's arm. "No! Cops!"

Drakken reacted exactly as she'd expected. "Until we meet again, little girl," he sneered, turning on his heel. "Shego! Come!"

Still Shego hesitated. She bent down, batting the rat aside and seizing a handful of the girl's red hair. "This isn't over until you're mine again," she whispered. "No matter how fast you run, where you hide, or how hard you fight, I'll find you. It's fate, and it's bigger than the both of us...Kimmie."

As she walked away, Shego never questioned if that was the girl's name or not. Even if the girl answered to something else, it wouldn't have mattered. This was how Shego had always identified her missing half, even as a child. Sometimes, in her fantasies, Kimmie was the little sister that looked up to her in their perfect family, or she was what Shego wanted to be reborn as, but always, she was Kimmie in the end.

How she'd gotten her own body was something to be cleared up later. But there was little doubt in Shego's mind that Kimmie would go home to a perfect family that understood her completely. And it only made her desire to possess Kimmie, mind, body, and soul, all the stronger.

Several minutes passed before the girl rolled to a sitting position, wincing as her ribs ached in protest. She carefully retrieved a small blue device from her pocket, trying to keep the pain out of her voice as she spoke into it. "Wade? Gonna need a pickup." As an afterthought, she added, "Preferably something that won't jostle me too much. And remind me that the next time Ron calls in sick, to just take a day off?"

"Will do, Kim. Everything okay?"

Kim sighed. "I let the bad guys got away, I feel like a horse kicked my ribs in, and I nearly let Rufus get squashed." She forced a smile as Rufus displayed his forgiveness with a whiskery kiss on her cheek, and she stroked the naked mole rat's back affectionately. "Let's just keep that last bit between us, okay?"

"Gotcha. I take it Green Girl was tougher than we expected?"

Suppressing a shudder at the memory of the woman's blazing green eyes, Kim closed her eyes for a second. "I don't want to talk about it."

* * *

Endnotes: If you wondered, the title comes from Greek mythology. Hephaestus is god of fire, and was known for his amazing skill as a blacksmith. He was born with deformed legs, but despite this, he is credited with fashioning the tools of the gods and demigods. In a way, he reminds me of both Shego and Kim in this story: persevering despite their obvious (or not so obvious) handicap of being literally half a person. 


	3. A Past Life

Chapter 3: A Past Life

Drakken had not asked why the girl had taken up so much of her time, and for that, Shego was grateful. Normally, lying came easy to her, but she couldn't think straight when it came to Kimmie. If she'd had to explain it to Drakken, he'd just think she was as crazy as she sounded.

That was the problem with being only half a person. It was all too easy to go to pieces, and in the end, running into Kimmie had hurt them both more than it had helped.

No matter how many times she replayed that night in her head, though, Shego couldn't see how she would've done things any differently. The shock of seeing Kimmie, alive and in another body, had been too much. It had thrown her off her game, more than she'd known was possible.

Now there were so many questions to be asked and answered. The problem was, Kimmie didn't seem to know who or what she was. Even if she had answers, she wouldn't recognize them for what they were. How, then, could Shego make her remember what they had once been? And would it matter, when there was no trust between them?

'I have to do something. I'm the one that remembers. I have to make her understand what we've both lost...somehow.'

What Shego couldn't have known then was that she really didn't have to do anything. At least, nothing she wasn't already doing. She had yet to figure out that her and Kimmie's chosen occupations clashed directly, which would lead them to countless meetings down the road.

* * *

The second encounter was decidedly different from the first.

For one thing, Shego learned that Kimmie was a package deal: she came with a bumbling sidekick and that cursed sharp-toothed rat.

She also learned that the first night would almost never be repeated. Shego accepted that she'd caught Kimmie off guard (despite being off center herself at the time), because since then, the girl's skills seemed to improve astronomically. And it wasn't just that she was getting better, it seemed as if she'd always been that good.

At first, Shego had been more than annoyed that her supposedly peaceful half was better at kicking butt than she was. In time, she realized that it was perhaps the best way for Kimmie to establish herself as a no-nonsense hero type. If people did bad, they got their butts kicked. It was so simple that Shego almost admired it. Almost. Her way of showing that was constantly doing her best to knock Kimmie flat on her rear. It never got any easier, but it was always strangely fun.

Unless Shego was imagining things, Kimmie also enjoyed their battles. It was a real chance to cut loose, to test their limits, and to exchange the necessary witty dialogue. Somehow, it brought them closer, just not in the traditional sense. By the time Shego found out that she had become Kimmie's main nemesis, their level of familiarity was just short of psychic.

And yet, Kimmie still hadn't given any indication that she knew anything of their deeper connection, and it was slowly driving Shego mad. How could she NOT know? Wasn't it obvious how similar they were? Couldn't she feel any sort of connection when they were trying to tear each other's heads off? Well, maybe not THEN, but at some point, instinct should've kicked in and given Kimmie a good boot to the head.

It had worked for Shego, after all.

Fate, as usual, had it's own unique way of bridging the gap.

* * *

Not for the first time, Shego found herself side by side with Kim, watching Dr. Drakken and Ron sissyfight.

"It would be funny, if it weren't so sad," Shego remarked.

Kim winced as one of Drakken's half-hearted slaps slipped through and connected with Ron's cheek. "I always preferred our catfights, myself. I think they do, too."

"Because they don't get involved?"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Because it's two hot girls fighting. Duh."

"Ah." Shego paused. "Wait. You just admitted you think I'm hot."

Kim shrugged. "We're modern women. Nothing wrong with tossing each other compliments every now and then."

"Oh." Shego considered that for a moment, then leaned closer and sniffed lightly. "You know, I guess I never noticed since I'm always so busy getting it dirty, but your hair smells really nice."

Kim favored her with a slight smile. "Thanks." Then her smile faded a bit. "Shouldn't we be...clawing at each other by now or something?"

Shego made an iffy sound. "In a minute. I'm enjoying this."

"What? The oddly comfortable companionship?"

"Well...that, and Dr. D just found the firehose."

"He's holding it the wrong way, though," Kim observed.

Shego grinned as Drakken suddenly went flying the length of the warehouse, screaming the whole way. "Yeah, I know." She sighed and finally dragged her eyes away from the thoroughly amusing spectacle. "So, Kimmie, how about we get started with-"

"MONKEY NINJAS ATTACK!"

Kim blinked. "That's a really good Monkey Fist impression."

Shego stared at her. "I know. Problem is, it wasn't me."

It soon became apparent that the yell was very authentic, as Ron quickly found himself surrounded by monkey ninjas, each wielding a weapon designed for their small stature. Monkey Fist himself remained perched high above on a catwalk, watching the battle with glee.

Kim aimed a heated glare at Shego. "I don't know whether I should feel surprised, or not surprised at all."

"Hey, don't look at me," Shego said defensively. "Dr. D never said anything about cutting Monkey Butt in on our action. And you'll notice only your sidekick is crawling in monkeys, while you remain curiously monkey-free."

"That's hardly as reassuring as you may have meant it to be," Kim snapped, whirling away to go help Ron.

Shego's hand shot out and grabbed Kim's shoulder. "Kimmie. Seriously. I didn't know about this."

Kim actually paused and looked over her shoulder, as if she were going to say something. Then her eyes widened, and she shoved Shego away from her.

Shego only had time to shoot her a confused look before Kim was blasted out of sight by a strong spray of water. This was followed by a great deal of wild hooting and clapping, and Shego looked up to see three monkey ninjas turning the firehose her way. For some reason, she found herself growing angry not because they'd been aiming at her, but because they'd hit Kim instead.

For once, she thought she understood why Ron hated monkeys so much.

In the next instant, she was leaping through the air, just avoiding the spray and sending a well-placed plasma blast at the hose itself. It was comical, the smug way the monkey ninjas looked at her before it dawned on them that she had indeed hit her intended target. Seconds later, the hose exploded, sending water and monkeys flying in various directions.

The next item on Shego's agenda was to grab Monkey Fist and demand to know what he thought he was doing, but she'd lost track of him during the fight. Ron was still busy with his group of monkeys, and Kim, much to Shego's surprise, still hadn't made it back to her feet. She was starting to wonder just how hard the firehouse had hit Kim, when she finally caught sight of Monkey Fist.

He, too, had noticed Kim's vulnerable position, but his reaction was considerably different. His paw-like hand flew to his waist, and then flashed out, sending something small and black hurtling through the air, directly at Kim.

Even though it was far too late for Shego to do anything about it, when Kim's startling cry of pain tore through the air, something in Shego snapped. But before she could introduce Monkey Fist to new definitions of pain, Monkey Fist did the last thing she was expecting.

"RETREAT!" Monkey Fist yelled, scrambling up to a high window.

It took her a moment, but Shego was ashamed to admit that she did see the logic in it. Monkey Fist had injured Kim, and it would keep her out of his hair for at least a few days. Time enough for him to pull off something really big, no doubt. Ron would be too busy trying to nurse Kim back to health to worry about Monkey Fist.

The monkey ninjas around Ron threw down smoke bombs, vanishing into the rapidly rising fog as the sidekick yelled Kim's name between coughs.

Shego knew at once what she should be doing...but then her eyes went back to Kim, and the visible puddle of blood beneath her leg.

"So gonna get fired for this," Shego muttered, leaping down to the floor and quickly making her way to Kim.

Kim's head snapped up at once, and suddenly Shego found a grapple gun pointed at her head.

"Knock it off," Shego ordered, slapping the gun out of her hand. She bent over Kim's leg and made a face. A short dagger was buried in Kim's leg a few inches below the knee. It could and should be removed, but there was already so much blood...

"Take my hand," Shego muttered, holding her right hand out to Kim.

Kim stared at her, obviously confused.

"Trust me, in a second you'll feel like crushing it."

Her face going pale, Kim did as she was told.

"Hope you're not a screamer, Kimmie." With that, Shego grabbed the dagger with her left hand and yanked it out.

Kim gritted her teeth and made do with a prolonged hiss, but Shego's hand only received slight pressure at best.

Shego quickly pressed her left hand over the wound. "Gonna sting a bit, but it needs to stop bleeding."

Knowing what she was planning, Kim nodded and closed her eyes. The pain was sharp but brief, and in the end, the blood flow had stopped.

She opened her eyes in time to see the green glow fading from Shego's hand.

"Gonna wanna stay off that. I'll talk Dr. D into a spontaneous vacation. Maybe a hunting trip in Monkey Town." Shego began to stand, but Kim hadn't let go of her yet.

"Shego? Thanks," Kim said quietly, giving her hand a squeeze. "Sorry I got your glove bloody."

"You can wash it, then," Shego replied, slipping the glove off and dropping it in Kim's lap. She glanced at the wound one last time, and was overcome by an urge that was one part instinct and one part memory. Imitating an act she'd seen her mother perform hundreds of times, Shego brushed two fingers against her lips and laid them lightly on Kim's leg.

Both of them stared at her fingers, and then at each other.

"Mom used to do that," they both said at once.

"No, she didn't," Kim whispered. "Mom was always a direct cut kisser. I remember because it grossed us out."

"That's yours, not...ours," Shego said hesitantly.

"What...?"

Instead of answering, Shego pulled away roughly and ran off, only seconds before Ron appeared.

"KP! What happened?" he cried, falling to his knees next to her. "You okay?"

Kim didn't answer him. She was still trying to figure out how she'd known Shego had gotten that gesture from her mother, and why, for a moment, their two mothers had been one and the same to her.

* * *

Roughly a week later, Monkey Fist ran into the first and only snag in yet another of his plans to become a random high-ranking monkey leader.

Admittedly, it was a very big snag, and with plasma-coated fists, no less.

The snag reminded him, in some very choice words, that he shouldn't leave his toys lying around where people could get hurt on them. To demonstrate, she returned his dagger to him with a bit more force than was necessary.

"We don't want you losing that again," Shego commented with a smirk.

She casually removed the latest monkey idol he'd stolen from his free hand. "I'll just hang onto this until Kimmie is up to kicking your butt herself. I might even let you have it back for a reasonable fee, if I'm in a good mood. In the meantime, you might wanna get that hand looked at. Pretty sure you don't want that dagger stuck in it for too long."

"I'll make you regret this, Shego!" he howled at the top of his lungs.

"Yeah, sure. The next time you decide to mess with Kimmie, you be a good little monkey and wait your turn like everyone else. I've got first dibs on her, no matter what. You might as well just settle things with Stoppable. I think Kimmie's starting to outgrow you."

Monkey Fist sneered at her. "You forget your place, woman. You're the one that takes orders. I give them!"

Shego smiled sweetly. "And you forget who has a dagger jammed in his hand, and who happens to be free to twist it. Maybe a demonstration will refresh your memory..."

* * *

"Mom, this is going to be an odd question, but I have to ask it."

Mrs. Dr. Possible looked up, trading confused glances with her team of surgeons. "Kimmie, you should know this really isn't a good time."

"Mom, please?" Kim pleaded.

"Oh, all right. Roberto, can you take over for a minute?"

The two Possible women stepped outside the operating theatre.

"Okay, Kimmie. What's bothering you?"

"You remember when I was little, and got all those scrapes and bumps?"

Mrs. Possible stared at her daughter expectantly. "Yes..."

"Do you ever remember kissing your fingers, and then pressing them on the scrapes?"

"Kimmie, you know I was a direct kisser."

Kim's face paled. "I know."

"Then why all the urgency?"

Kim took a deep breath. "Mom...was I...I mean, you'd tell me if..."

Mrs. Possible could sense that something was very wrong. "Kimmie, honey, what are you trying to ask me?"

"This is going to sound completely crazy, but...was I adopted?"

There was silence for a long moment.

Finally, Mrs. Possible shook her head. "Dear, I think you've been overworking yourself again. You're obviously not thinking straight."

"But, Mom-"

"Kimberly Anne Possible. I have heard my share of wild ideas, but you being adopted is the wildest by far. So I have to assume that you've been working too hard, or maybe that dagger was laced with some sort of hallucinogenic drug. Besides, if there were less than normal circumstances surrounding your birth, your father and I would've told you by now. You've proven yourself to be an extremely mature young lady...despite one very recent lapse in judgment."

"So tell me why I had the same memory as Shego!" Kim blurted out.

Mrs. Possible stopped. "What are you talking about, Kimmie?"

"When Shego pulled the dagger out, she kissed her fingers and pressed them on my leg. Mom, I swear for a second, I couldn't tell the difference between you and her mother. It was like you were the same person, and I couldn't explain it, because I'd never even seen Shego's mother until then. I'm just so confused about this..."

"I'm afraid I can't explain it, either. Are you sure you've never had your brain switched with hers? I know Ron's been through it a few times."

"Never," Kim replied. "At least, I don't think so..."

"Then I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but...maybe you need to ask Shego? Do you think you can get her to stop attacking you for five minutes or so?"

"Actually, we did have a chat right before the dagger incident. I guess I could call her and set up a non-business meeting."

"Just be careful, Kimmie. I'm not sure if Shego will be totally honest with you."

"Probably not, Mom. But if anyone can explain what happened that day, I think it's her."

* * *

Endnotes: If it seems like I hate Monkey Fist, I don't. He's actually one of the more interesting bad guys to me. His schemes do tend a get a little repetitive though. Steal monkey-related artifact, use said artifact to become monkey leader of some sort, conquer the world with new monkey powers. Even Drakken gets creative every now and then. 


	4. Closer

Notes: This was hard to write. Hope it shows, in a good way. As far as height, Shego and Kim are probably closer than I made it seem towards the end. Mind you, I only adjusted it to suit my sinister porpoises. Uh...I meant purposes. Or did I...?

Chapter 4: Closer

_'I can't do this. She'll never believe me.'_

_'Then don't give her a choice. Don't let her leave until she accepts the truth.'_

_'No! We can't force it on her, or she'll run. If she runs, it'll be that much harder to make her understand in the end.'_

_'She can't run if you don't let her. She's the lesser half, not you. Show her why this all started in YOUR body, not hers. You're stronger than her.'_

_'Then why does the thought of her even wanting to run away make us feel so weak?'_

Gritting her teeth, Shego forcibly silenced the voices in her head and doused her dry throat with a swig of mineral water. Not that it helped much.

She'd been a nervous wreck ever since that awkward phone call from Kimmie. But there had been no trace of uncertainty in that Shego. She had simply told Kimmie where to be and when, then hung up without waiting to see if she would agree.

And she hadn't had a decent night's sleep since.

Several times, she thought of dipping into her stash of sleeping pills, but often the nightmares just weren't worth a few hours of rest. At any rate, she didn't want to be under the influence of anything but bad nerves when Kimmie showed up. This would be hard enough as it was.

There was the slim possibility that this was all a setup, but Shego didn't think so. Kimmie had sounded far too scared and confused, and she probably wasn't that good an actress. But Shego had taken certain precautions, in case things did go sour. All of her safehouses were rigged with certain voice commands, and if Kimmie gave any indication of being unfaithful...well, she'd regret it. Shego would, too, but Kimmie would regret it more.

The monitor in front of her flashed, and then cleared to show a wide view of Kimmie slipping off her parachute pack, glancing around a few times, and finally heading for the house itself, though at a leisurely enough pace where she could still spot any traps.

That was good, but mostly unnecessary. There WERE traps, but they were inactive at the moment. Once Kimmie was inside, Shego would arm then again, and, assuming things went well, disarm them before Kimmie left. If they didn't go well, Kimmie wouldn't be leaving until Shego was ready for her to leave. She didn't like the thought of forcing Kimmie to do anything, especially now, but Shego didn't have time or patience enough for any other way. And if Kimmie was on the level, there'd be no need for force.

Shego found that she'd actually calmed down quite a bit by the time she heard Kimmie's footsteps approaching the living room. Perhaps it was just an inner need to be the dominant half, the one in control of things at any given moment. Already they were meeting on her terms, and so long as she remained in control, Kimmie would never find out just how scary this all was for her, too.

"You bring my glove?" Shego asked the moment the redhead set foot into the room.

Kim nodded slightly, slowly pulling Shego's black glove from her pocket. She hesitantly crossed the room, handing the glove to Shego.

Shego inspected the glove for any traces of blood, even as she commented, "I see your leg's healed up."

"Only because the wound was...treated so quickly. At least, that's what...Mom said." Kim swallowed nervously and cleared her throat. "Why did you agree to this?"

"You had my glove."

"Seriously, Shego. Why?"

"You ask your Mom? About what you saw?"

"She couldn't explain it. She said I should ask you."

"And do you know why she couldn't explain it, Kimmie?" Shego asked, staring intently at her. "Why you had to come to me?"

"Because you know...something about me that no one else does."

"How do you think I got that knowledge? By watching you?"

Kim shook her head. "It can't be anything that simple."

"You're right. It's not simple at all. It's not even remotely believable, either. So before I tell you anything, you need to decide something for yourself, Kimmie. How much do you trust me?"

Kim stared at her, at a complete loss for words. "What kind of a question is that?"

Shego sighed. "One I don't really expect an answer to. Aloud, anyway. But you still need to make the choice. Let me know when you're ready." She began to turn away, but Kim grabbed her arm.

"Shego, wait. I do trust you. Neither of us is on the clock right now, so you don't have any reason to lie to me. Even when we were, you didn't have to remove that dagger. The least I could do in return is believe what you tell me."

Shaking her head, Shego chuckled. "No, Kimmie. You do owe me, but that's not how I want to be repaid. You wanna believe what I say, that's your call. I'll collect later. I never waste a debt owed to me."

"Fair enough," Kim agreed.

"And since you do trust me," Shego continued, "I'm sure you'll have no problem letting me hold that Kimmunicator for a few minutes."

Kim looked a bit surprised, but she still reached into her pocket. "Any particular reason why?"

"Yeah," Shego said simply, holding out her hand.

Smirking, Kim handed over the Kimmunicator. "Are you trying to see if I really trust you, or are you trying to figure out if you trust me?"

"Neither." Shego gave the Kimmunicator a long look before putting it in her pocket.

"Just so you know, I am going to need that back," Kim pointed out.

"I'm aware," Shego replied, gesturing to the couch. "Have a seat. You don't want to be standing when I tell you this."

A look remarkably like fear flashed across Kim's face, but she sat down.

"When I was little, I didn't have any friends. It was just me and those jerks who dared to call themselves my brothers, and I wasn't crazy about them then. So I improvised."

"You talked to yourself," Kim guessed.

"No, Kimmie. I talked to you. Up until that comet hit me, you were a voice in my head. Someone I talked to when I thought I was going to lose it. You kept me in line...mostly."

"You...you're kidding, right?" Kim asked slowly.

"How do you think I knew your name when we first met? Why do you think I went nuts when I saw you? After that comet hit me, I never heard anything else from you. I thought you were gone for good. Then you show up out of the blue and kick me in the back of the head."

"You could've heard of me beforehand," Kim said softly. "Even then, I had a reputation..."

"I wasn't coming onto you when I said you were mine, Kimmie. You are. You always have been. I don't know how you got out of my head and into that body, and I'm betting you don't, either. But I could never forget your voice. I've missed it too much."

"Shego, this isn't funny," Kim snapped, standing up.

Shego closed her eyes. "I'm not laughing, Kimmie."

"You shouldn't be! Either tell me what I want to know, or give me back my Kimmunicator so I can leave!"

For a long moment, Shego just stared at her. Finally, she sighed and pulled the Kimmunicator from her pocket. "I guess we have nothing else to talk about, then."

Furious, Kim strode forward and snatched the Kimmunicator from Shego's hand. She had only managed to turn around when Shego's arms locked around her throat and waist, holding her in place. "Let go of me!" Kim shouted, trying her best to break the hold as the Kimmunicator clattered to the floor.

Shego forced Kim's head farther back. "Look at me, Kimmie," she said quietly. "Look into my eyes, and I'll let you go. Promise."

At that point, Kim really didn't have much choice. Even then, something in her mind insisted that if Shego were going to hurt her, she wouldn't have bothered to be subtle or hesitant about it. And it wasn't as if Shego could manipulate her any further with just a look. So Kim stopped struggling and allowed Shego to tilt her head back even further, until their eyes met.

For several moments, there was nothing new to behold. Kim only saw the same intensity that she'd come to expect from Shego, no matter what the sitch. Certainly she'd been this close to Shego before, and occasionally even seen her upside-down as she was now, but never under quite these circumstances. All the same, she wasn't sure what it was that Shego wanted, expected, or even needed her to see.

But just when Kim was thinking about complaining of the strain on her neck, she saw something that made her blood run cold. Perhaps she had only imagined it, and perhaps it was just elementary science coming back to haunt her at the strangest time. Whatever it was, it shook her to the core.

As she stared into Shego's eyes, Kim Possible saw herself. Not a reflection, but her actual self, staring right back at her with the most forlorn expression imaginable. That was how she knew it was no reflection, because as Kim took this in, she knew the look on her face was one of complete and utter terror.

Because if Shego was right, and they really had been a single person once, what was to stop them from becoming one again? Maybe that was even why Shego had invited her here: to reclaim her other half. But Kim wasn't ready, would never be ready, to give up her entire life, even if it meant repairing what she now sensed was broken inside Shego. It was just too much to ask, even of someone as selfless as Kim. There were things she was ready to give without a second thought, but her whole existence was not on the list. At least, not this time.

Shego, however, had no intention of becoming whole that night. How could she, when she still didn't know exactly how they'd come apart? This wasn't something she was willing to meddle with, at least not yet. She had spent all this time apart from Kimmie, and she wasn't going to risk losing either of them in a misguided attempt to fuse their bodies.

On the other hand, there was no reason not to strengthen the connection between. In the long term, that could only help, as far as Shego was concerned.

The first order of business, however, was to get that shocked look off of Kimmie's face.

Shego let the arm around Kim's neck fall away, adding it to the tight hold on her waist. There was no response, so she wet her lips and placed them beside the girl's ear.

"Now that we understand each other," Shego said softly, "I need you to do some things for me, Kimmie. First, I'm going to need you to keep this little talk, and everything you learned from it, to yourself. We can't have anyone thinking we're crazy and locking us up, can we? It would only complicate things. Well, more than they already are. You'll do that for me...for us...won't you?"

Kim's face was still frozen, but she managed to swallow and nod.

"Good girl. Now, the other thing." Shego pulled out the black glove Kim had just returned to her, stretching it before continuing. "I'm going to need you to wear this for me."

Kim's reaction was rather predictable. At the first sign of their two separate identities becoming one on any level, she let out a stifled cry and shook her head violently.

"Kimmie, I'm not asking," Shego pointed out, slowly but firmly taking hold of Kim's right hand. "I'm telling you that every time you have a mission, you're going to wear this. Starting now."

"No!" Kim pleaded in a tone so desperate that it surprised both of them. "Shego, I can't, please don't make me-"

"Kimmie," Shego murmured in her ear. "Who is the older half here, hmm?"

At first, Kim didn't say anything. Finally, she shut her eyes tightly. "You are."

"Good. And who knows more about us, huh?"

"...you do."

"Right. And who is going to wear this glove from now on?"

Wordlessly, Kim pulled off the glove she was wearing and held up her pale, trembling right hand.

"Look at it this way," Shego suggested as she pulled her glove over Kim's hand. "You bled all over it, so I wasn't going to keep it, anyway." Satisfied with that lie, she went on. "I want you to look at it, every single time you're about to do something brave and foolish that could get you hurt or worse. I want you to look at it and think of when I pulled that dagger out of your leg." She lowered her voice. "I want you to look at it, Kimmie, and think of the first time I knocked you on your ass. Because if you ever, and I mean EVER, let yourself die, I will find a way to hunt you down and make you regret it for the rest of your afterlife."

From the look on Kim's face, she was definitely recalling that first time. "Can I go now?" she asked quietly.

"No. First, you're going to have some milk and store-bought chocolate chip. That's how we always got over big shocks. Then you'll go."

And that was how it went. Shego sat Kim down and watched her eat five cookies, chasing each with half a glass of milk. Kim was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost walked out before Shego reminded her that she was missing something. Kim hadn't known what she meant, until Shego held out the Kimmunicator.

"Not that you'll need it," Shego said as she handed it back, "but I did a retina scan on it earlier. Check it out if you want."

"You must hate me," Kim blurted out.

Shego blinked. "Say what?"

"That's why you kept fighting me, even after you knew, right? You were mad at me for...for abandoning you."

Perhaps Shego would've been mad, if Kimmie had intentionally left her without a word, allowing Shego to think she was dead. But they both knew that wasn't the case.

"I fought you anyway because it was what we did best, Kimmie. It was always what we did best. I may have held a grudge for a while after the first time, but not because of something you had no memory of." Shego reached out and lightly brushed her thumb against Kim's lips. "So no, I don't hate you. Tried it. Didn't work for me."

"Oh," was all Kim could think to say to that.

Shego brushed past her and went to stand by the window. "So. Now you can go."

"Oh," Kim said again. "Okay." She didn't move.

"One foot in front of the other, Kimmie."

"Right." Kim hesitantly turned the door, but she felt her gaze being drawn back to Shego. "How did you...why did you..."

"Another time." Shego suddenly sounded very tired, and oddly enough, old.

Kim did not quite understand the corresponding ache that made itself known in her heart just then, but she did know that it had a great deal to do with the woman in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she moved to stand by Shego's side, and found herself immensely relieved the instant she had done so. "Goodnight, Shego." Without thinking, Kim lifted her head and pressed her lips briefly but tenderly against Shego's pale cheek. It did not immediately register in her mind that she wasn't quite tall enough to do so on her own.

"Go home, Kimmie," Shego said, turning away.

Kim wanted to say something to make Shego not regret this meeting, but she doubted either of them was ready to hear and believe it. Instead, she merely walked away, trying the statement out in her thoughts, and wondering what Shego's reaction would've been.

She had little doubt that she'd get the chance to find out later, either way.

* * *

Endnotes: Just so people don't get the wrong idea. There will be no couples in this story, because they would take away from the main plot, and because I feel there's no need for them. That said, this fic is only Kigo in the sense that Shego and Kim were originally one person. While they will express some affection for each other along the way, if you're expecting for Hot Lesbian Action, I'm afraid I've misled you. If you've ever seen one of those nerdy guys on TV turn his back on the camera and make out with himself, it'd be something like that…although admittedly less disturbing…and I daresay a bit more arousing. But I digress. In short, don't read too much into the kiss. I have at least one series devoted to the Kigo pairing, but this ain't it.

Reviews!

swk3000

This is awesome! And to think that I issued the challenge! I'm sorry, but when I made the challenge on the KP Slash Haven boards, I never expected something this...well, great. I love it. I can't wait until you continue this. You just made my day. Thank you for accepting my challenge.

_Well, it was a challenge I couldn't resist, once I understood it (the Piccolo example drove it home). Although I must admit I have very little idea of what I'm doing here._

* * *

Shkspr1048

I agree that Monkey Fist's plans do tend to repeat, but then ol' Monty always did strike me as a traditionalist.

_I can respect that, but it still makes him a bit predictable in some cases. And he does seem to get his paws on a lot of monkey idols. On the other hand, I think he's provided us with some of the more amusing episodes, if only because he freaks out Ron with monkey ninjas._

* * *

Serpent King

This story's getting more interesting by the chapter. I'm assuming that Kim's not going to believe her at first, but she'll start remembering things from their life.

_Not exactly, but you're on the right track. Actually, the story's getting harder to write with every chapter. But I like a challenge sometimes._

* * *

pyro demon713

love it i absoluty love it and i cant wait for the next chapter good luck on it...

_Thanks, I'll need it._

* * *

sehnsucht792

this has got to be one of the weirdest plot lines i've ever seen, but its interesting. keep writing, show us why this is rated M

_Uh...that's partially cuz I don't want to be booted out of here for some kid reading my fics. But also because I suspect things will get graphic later on._

* * *

annasinistra

I think you're one of the few who could have pulled this challenge off convincingly. I like where you're going with this, wonderful job as always.

_...whoever said only women need compliments to survive was wrong. I'm blushing, really._

* * *

Mystic Elf

Ooh, this is such a great idea!

Brilliance!

It all fits so perfectly, and you've done such a great job structuring and wording everything. Great way of filling in some of the gaps, but I guess the whole Possible family deal needs to be explained; is that why you brought in the reincarnatio deal? And maybe why Shego is older...

Good luck with the next chapter(s).

_Wish I could take credit, but again, it wasn't my idea. The sinister porpoises, those are mine, but that's it. Yup, the family will be explained later on, and reincarnation will come up again. Shego is older in the sense that she's been in her body longer and therefore has more experience, but both of her "voices" came into being roughly around the same time. But for all intents, she is the older half. I'm going to need all the luck I can get making this work, so thanks._

* * *

Paili-chan

Continue this please! This is already starting to look too good to have it end here. Are you trying to say that Kim and Shego used to be one and the same person at one point in Shego's life before the Rainbow Comet hit and gave Shego and her brothers their powers? But what about Kim's life with the Possible family?

I'd love to see how this goes, and also see if Kim and Shego figure it out somehow if it's true.

_I'm hoping the story explained most of that by now, but ask again if not. The family life will be explained later._

* * *

Serpent King

Kim being a part of Shego at the time of the comet strike would explain how she can jump 20 feet or more straight up or punch/kick someone 3 times her size 10 or 15 feet.

Examples:

Job Unfair: She jumped straight up, had to be at least 20 feet.

Ron the Man: She punched one of Jack Hench's goons, a man two or three times her size, and he went flying.

So the Drama: She kicked Shego into that antenna, it must have been at least 30 feet behind her.

_When you put it like that, it's hard to imagine Kim NOT having any superpowers. Hmm. Although I think that last one is more a testament to Shego, considering she walked away with nothing but frizzy hair._


	5. The Fallen Sky

Notes: This chapter is a nightmare. For whom is open to debate.

Chapter 5: The Fallen Sky

For the third week in a row, Kim had the nightmare.

It was raining hard, and she had drifted in and out of sleep, enough to disorient her a bit, but not enough to really get any rest. The constant pounding of the rain was just starting to lull her back to sleep when her bedroom door slammed open.

Kim didn't look, not because she was afraid, but because she knew what she would see. Instead, she tucked her head under the pillow and tried to pretend that this wasn't happening again.

But it was.

The cold, dripping wet weight of another person still straddled her waist. The pillow was still ripped out of her hands. And she was still forced to turn over and stare up into the ghastly, psychotic grin of the one person who should've frightened her the least.

Worst of all, she still heard that same voice as the person's free hand flared with neon green fire.

"Don't be afraid, Kimmie. You won't feel a thing. Probably."

And Kim didn't feel a thing, even when that flame-coated hand was plunged directly into her face. But she had a horrifying feeling that was only because she was already dead.

* * *

Shego awoke abruptly from the same dream, only to hear a faint knocking somewhere above her. She couldn't hear it over the familiar whoosh of plasma being discharged. And then she realized that she WAS discharging, and against her will, no less.

That had never happened before.

The knocking came again, and Shego looked up to find herself encased in some kind of glass tube. And just beyond the tube was a familiar blue, concerned face.

"Ah...Shego," Dr. Drakken said slowly, "I realize that the last time I asked about your powers, you told me to mind my own business, but...I really think it's time to share."

"And why is that?" Shego asked irritably, feeling the start of headache coming on.

"Because... well..." Dr. Drakken wrung his gloved hands nervously. "Could you at least stop burning the lair down for ten minutes so we can talk? Really, you're just putting us more and more behind schedule!"

"Burning? What do you..." Shego's eyes went back to her hands, which were still burning against her will. And now the rest of her body was encased in green flame as well, not that she could feel it. "...oh. So that's why you put me in here."

"Yes," he admitted, sounding regretful. "You wouldn't respond, or...extinguish, and I had to do something before you reached the explosives."

"Right." Shego could remember none of that. Maybe she'd been sleepwalking during the nightmare. It was possible. Highly unlikely, but possible. She could see that parts of the lair definitely looked scorched. "So I should just turn it off now."

"It could only help," Dr. Drakken pointed out.

"Yeah. But I can't." At his confused look, she sighed. "I mean I can't. It's not listening to me anymore. I can't stop it."

"Oh. Oh, dear." Dr. Drakken glanced around nervously. "Well...you understand that I can't let you out yet, then?"

Shego rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

"And...uh...how long will it take you to...regain control?"

"I'm sure I don't know, Dr. D. I don't expect you to pay me while I'm in here, if that's what you're worried about."

"Actually, I'm a bit more worried about...you, Shego." He hesitated. "Is there anything I can do?"

Shego stared at him, not sure whether to be sarcastic or touched. "No. I'm not even sure what to do just yet."

He nodded and slowly walked off, looking distracted.

Shego bit her lip, glaring at her traitorous hands. They'd always listened before. Her first thought had been to tell Dr. Drakken to call Kim, but she would've had trouble explaining that. And Kim couldn't do anything for her, really. This was even beyond her parents, actually. The other treatment options didn't look so good, either. DNAmy might know something, but Shego didn't want to walk away from this with fur and/or scales.

And it wasn't as if anyone could anything until she got the fire to put itself out.

* * *

The fire wouldn't go out.

Kim assumed that Shego was just really pissed, and didn't want the fire to go out.

But then she noticed that Shego was crying, albeit through blank, unseeing eyes. And Shego never cried. Never.

"They took away my eyes, Kimmie," Shego moaned pitifully. "My beautiful eyes...so much like yours. Can we share?"

Then the flame was reaching out, and Kim couldn't avoid it. The flame surrounded her, embraced her, caressed her...and yet, it did not burn her.

"C'mere, Kimmie. Gimme a hug. I'm so cold inside..." Shego stretched out her arms, the hungry need in her face all too obvious.

"You can't be cold. You're the warmest person I know."

Shego smirked. "So gimme a hug, anyway. Do I need a reason?"

"How do I know this isn't another dream?" Kim asked.

"Of course it's a dream, silly. But this one won't end badly. That is, if you learn someting from it..."

* * *

Kim sat up in bed, mere seconds before her Kimmunicator beeped. "Go, Wade," she muttered, already knowing the sitch.

"Sorry to bother you so late, Kim, but we've got an emergency. Something's wrong-"

"With Shego," Kim finished for him.

"...yeah. She's totally out of control. But how did you know?"

"Just a hunch. I'm gonna need some special gear. Anything especially plasma resistant."

"I know what you're thinking, but there's not much that can guard against a direct touch from Shego."

"Don't worry. I actually have a sample you can work from," Kim replied, staring at the black glove on her nightstand.

"Bet that wasn't easy to come by."

"It was a night I will definitely never forget..."

* * *

What remained of Dr. Drakken's latest lab was a burning heap of rubble. Shego sat on top of the smoking mound, staring into the night. At least, that was how it seemed.

In truth, Shego wasn't staring at anything at all. For just over an hour now, she hadn't been able to see a thing. It had happened while she'd been trying to turn off her plasma. And while she couldn't actually see it anymore, she was almost certain it was burning even stronger now.

She'd told Dr. Drakken to run, but she wasn't sure if he'd listened. At least, she didn't hear him anymore, but that wasn't necessarily a good sign.

Since willing the plasma out had failed, she was now hoping that it would burn itself out. If that didn't work, she could always try to inhale enough smoke in the hopes that she would at least pass out. With any luck, the plasma wasn't operating on a subconscious level.

But if it wasn't, Shego had no idea what was controlling it.

She was quickly becoming convinced that some external force was exerting its increasing control over her. And really, she could only think of one possible culprit: the very fire she'd prayed to all those years ago, the one that had gifted and cursed her with these powers. She had been young then, and willing to consider it a higher power. Now, though, as far as she was concerned, it was time the fire came through for her.

"You owe me, you emerald neon bastard!" she spat. "You've been stiffing me for years, but no more, damn you! Tonight, you finally pay up!" She threw back her head and screamed at the heavens. "YOU OWE ME A DREAMHOUSE!"

"Shego!"

"...Kimmie?" Shego asked softly, looking left and right. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. What did you do to this place?"

"It's the fire." Shego scowled, recalling how she'd use to call it hers. Now she doubted that had ever been the case. "I can't stop it."

"I was afraid of that," Kim sighed. "Don't move, okay?"

"What? Why?" Shego asked, concern in her voice. "Kimmie, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to help you. Stop moving for a minute."

"NO! Stay back!" Shego leaped to her feet, straining her ears for signs of Kim's approach. "Don't come any closer!"

"Shego, chill out! You're only making it worse!"

"It can't get any worse than me hurting you!" Shego cried.

"...what?" Kim asked, sounding confused.

"I can barely control my own body right now! If you get too close, I might...I mean, it could...you can't risk..."

"And when have I ever let you seriously hurt me?" Kim reminded her.

Shego tried to think back, but she realized it had been a distraction as she heard Kim's footsteps coming closer. "Kimmie, no! STOP!"

There was silence for a long moment, and then two soft impacts directly behind her.

Shego lunged forward, trying to put some distance between them, but something closed around her ankles, halting her progress and dropping her to the ground. Before she could rise, she felt the full weight of a body on her back, though it was considerably heavier than she remembered.

"Shego, hold still! It's me!" Kim shouted.

"That's why I'm fighting!" Shego shrieked. "You'll get burned!"

"How do you know? You can't even see me!"

"You have to burn! Everything else did!"

"You didn't," Kim pointed out, pinning her flailing wrists. "Why should I?"

Shego stopped for a moment. Now that she thought about it, she'd never seen any burns on Kim, and she'd had plenty of chances to see and inflict them.

"Now just calm down," Kim said directly into her ear. "I'm fine. We're fine."

Suddenly realizing she was drawing in ragged breaths, Shego forced herself to relax.

"Why can't you see?" Kim asked after a moment. "Your eyes...they're blank. No pupils."

"I don't know," Shego muttered miserably.

"Sorry." Kim paused. "Can I let you up now?"

"What's the point?"

"Shego, don't talk like that. We'll get you some help."

"How? Even if your mother could help me, she can't operate on a burn victim that's still burning."

"Well...don't just give up! We haven't even tried yet!"

"Maybe we shouldn't." Shego pressed her face into the ground. "I'm dying. That's why these things are happening to me. My body's giving out. Just leave me here. It'll probably be over in a couple of hours."

When there was no response, Shego thought Kim was agreeing. Then she felt a sharp, painful tug on her hair.

"You scared me stiff and made me promise, Shego. You don't get to die on me, either! I don't care if your head explodes, you're not going to die like this!"

"Gee, thanks for the happy-fun time imagery, Kimmie. Your mom didn't teach you about proper deathbed manner?"

"No, and she's never going to need to."

Shego grunted as she was hauled roughly to her feet. "Ow."

"Do you care about me at all, Shego? Since it's obvious you no longer care about yourself."

"You know I do. Why else would I try to keep you from getting burned?"

"Do you care about my happiness?"

"...is this going somewhere, Kimmie?"

"Yes." A hand grabbed Shego's chin and yanked her head down. "I would be very, VERY unhappy if you died. So don't do it."

"Got a little dominatrix in you, I see. Or I hear and feel, anyway."

"I figured you were the kinky type. You need to make a choice, Shego. You asked me once how much I trusted you. I'm asking you the same. Are you going to trust that I'll find a way to help you, or are you going to sit on this pile of dirt and wait to die?"

"...okay, you win."

"Take my hand."

"What, you don't like it anymore?"

"I'm wearing your glove," Kim snapped.

"Oh." Shego reached out blindly until she felt her fingers brush the offered hand. "I really hope that's flame gear you're wearing. Otherwise, you're pregnant. With twins with heads like watermelons."

"You can't be dying if you can still run your mouth like that." Kim tugged her hand lightly. "Come on. I know a place."

"Is it fireproof?"

"No, but I never liked the furniture much, anyway."

* * *

Reviews!

sehnsucht792

yeah, thanks for clearing that up at the end. i was getting a little concerned, given the rating you gave it, but okay. very nice, very absorbing.

_The rating is more for what I thought might include graphic imagery, like the nightmares._

* * *

Blackfire 18

Wow, I believe this is the first Shego fic that passed under my hard eyes and analytical mind and passed the bar I place on stories; this one is very, very well done! And so original! (You won't believe how pleased I am to finally find a fic that is excellently written (and not incomplete and abandoned...))

I'm also relieved to find that this isn't a Kigo (sorry, not a slash fan!), but there is still a level of affection based on the grounds of a maturity that isn't painful too read.

In short--I LOVE THIS STORY! I now vow to be an avid reader of this ficiton and will continue to hound you with praise until it is finished!

_Thanks, I think. I can appreciate your feelings on Kigo, since again, there's no real place for it in this story. Stay away from most of my other KP fics, though, if that's how you feel. In fact, if Shego's name is in the summary, most likely you shouldn't touch it._

* * *

Serpent King

So basically, they're going to be more along the line of sisters instead of lovers, correct?

"When you put it like that, it's hard to imagine Kim NOT having any superpowers."

I was thinking that it merely increased her strength, agility, hand-eye coordination, stuff like that, the comet only had four abilities, and Kim had no body at the time, nor a high amount of exposure to the radiation.

I do wonder about her entrance into Aviarius' lair, wouldn't spin drilling be more of a combination of superspeed and superstrength?

_...I swear you people are peeking into my head. Stop that._


	6. ProLife

Chapter 6: Pro-Life

Kim Possible was halfway through her third energy bar when the truth finally hit her.

Shego was dying.

She hadn't wanted to believe that, at first. She'd wanted to believe that Shego was just milking the opportunity to be pampered by her main nemesis. Not that they were even close to being enemies anymore.

Kim had never seen Shego like this. She was so weak. So vulnerable. Pitiful, even. This woman was nothing like the Shego she had once loathed and even feared, to a certain extent.

And yet it was this same woman that Kim finally understood she had come to love, though not in any way she could actually explain without confusing herself even more. Shego would never let her live it down, anyway. Better to keep her thoughts to herself.

Shego's fire had gradually winked out along the trip from Dr. Drakken's lair (what remained of it), though her sight hadn't returned. Her other senses seemed to kick into temporary hyperactivity, though. The plane ride over had grated on her ears relentlessly, she wouldn't go anywhere that wasn't at least dimmed first, and she started panicking if she wasn't within ten feet of Kim at all times.

By the time they'd finally reached the near-bare apartment, Shego was completely exhausted, though it didn't seem to keep her from complaining. Kim had no trouble coaxing her to lie down on the couch, but Shego would hardly even let her leave the room to make a few phone calls. And the one time Kim had tried to ignore her, Shego had begun to scream "KIMMIE!" so loudly that Kim couldn't hear anything else. Even when she gave in, Shego had been angry with her, and wouldn't stop sulking until Kim made it up to her.

That was how Kim found herself on the couch with Shego's head in her lap. She had suggested using a pillow only once, and Shego had given her a look that told her where she could stick her pillow idea. The good news was that Shego had quickly fallen asleep after that, and even she couldn't complain while she was sleeping.

Kim resorted to speaking with Wade in hushed tones as they tried to find some experts that might be able to help Shego. The list they ended up with was short and not very promising at all. Most were people that Shego had robbed in one way or another, and the chances of them being able or willing to help her, even at Kim's request, was slim to none. Wade suggested that Mrs. Possible might be able to tell them if the problems were brain-related, but Kim wasn't ready to go to her mother just yet. This was a lot for even her to deal with, and she didn't want to dump it all on her parents.

Not yet, anyway.

* * *

Shego was having a horrible dream. Only it didn't start out that way.

She was in an orphanage. The people were nice, the kids didn't bother her, and they even gave her a tiny dollhouse all her own. It wasn't quite a dreamhouse, but it was close enough.

One day, another girl arrived. She was shrimpy and a little whiny, but Shego liked her right away. Her pigtails were fun to pull on. Lightly, though, just shy of actually hurting.

They had the same eyes.

From day one, they were inseparable. Or so it seemed.

A family came. They wanted Kimmie. Only her, though.

Kimmie begged for them to take her friend, too. They only had room for one kid, it seemed.

Shego wasn't surprised. Pissed, but not surprised.

She watched with dead eyes as Kimmie was loaded into a car. Kimmie waved sadly out of the back window, but Shego didn't wave back. She wasn't mad at Kimmie. She was just pissed.

That night, the orphanage burned to the ground. It didn't matter.

It didn't bring Kimmie back.

Nothing would. She was gone. Gone for good.

The world could burn. Shego didn't care. Wouldn't miss it at all.

With any luck, the family would recognize her on the news and bring Kimmie back to her. She wasn't going to hold her breath, though.

They were perfect. Perfect people didn't give up their children to crazies with plasma tantrums.

Shego really wished they did, though.

* * *

"Wake up, Shego. You need to eat."

Shego grunted and tried to go back to sleep. "Later."

"No. Now." Kim shoved a half-eaten energy bar under her nose, knowing she wouldn't be able to resist it up close.

"Fine. But it better be good."

"Energy bars are all we have. The owner doesn't really keep this place stocked."

Shego grumbled a bit, but opened her mouth and allowed Kim to feed her. She'd had much better, but she'd also had much worse. She didn't feel any stronger afterwards, but it was still good to have something in her stomach.

"Can you tell me anything about your powers that might help us figure out what's wrong?" Kim asked.

"Yeah. They're not as bad when I'm around you. You know everything else."

There was a long pause before Kim spoke again. "Well...has anything like this ever happened-"

"No, Kimmie. Otherwise I might be handling it better."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault. At least, I don't think it is."

"What if it is?" Kim asked softly.

"Then I can take it out on you later. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Sure," Kim replied, even as she failed to suppress a yawn.

"Sounds like you could use a nap, too."

"I'm okay. I just-"

"Kimmie, just because I can't see you doesn't mean I won't get off this couch and beat you unconscious. Either way, you are going to sleep. You can't take good care of me if you're worn out, too."

"I...I am taking good care of you, aren't I?" Kim asked, sounding hopeful and fearful at the same time.

"I'll tell you when we wake up. Emphasis on the 'we,' by the way."

"Okay, you win. Just let me call home first." Kim gently lifted Shego's head and slid away. "I'm probably grounded for being out so late, anyway."

"Tell them you were helping an old blind woman. It's true enough."

"You're not old, Shego."

"I feel like it," Shego muttered, drawing a worried look from Kim as she went into the next room to use the phone.

Kim's phone call took a few minutes, and even though Kim tried to keep her voice down, Shego was sure that she begged at least twice. Probably not to be grounded for the rest of her natural life, or something like that. Shego wasn't too concerned, though. The way things were looking, if she made it through the night, she'd be happy to tell Kim's parents the whole truth later. Much later.

"It's a good thing I don't have to go home tonight," Kim said as she came back. "I don't think all the yelling would be good for your ears."

"We'll straighten it out," Shego promised.

Kim stared at her. "Really? Thanks."

"Assuming things go well, I mean."

There was a long pause in which Shego could practically feel Kim's fear rolling off her in waves.

"Go to sleep," Shego ordered.

"I can't," Kim whispered.

"Why not?"

"Because!"

Shego sighed. "If you stand there and tell me you need a stupid song or a dumb doll to-"

"I'm scared if I go to sleep that you won't be alive when I wake up!" Kim cried, her voice raw and panicky.

For some reason, the thought of Kim being afraid was more bothersome than the thought of being dead in the morning.

Shego stretched out her hand. "Come here."

For a few seconds, there was no response. Then Kim's hand took hers, and Shego felt the couch sink a little as Kim sat down beside her.

"You promised me you wouldn't die, Shego," Kim sniffled. "But I don't believe you anymore."

Instead of answering, Shego pulled Kim down beside her and drew the girl close. "How about I just pinch you if something feels worse?" she asked in Kim's ear.

"Okay," Kim agreed quietly. "And if nothing does?"

"Then I guess I have to spend the whole night holding you," Shego sighed, burying her face in Kim's hair. "I finally get you trapped, and I don't even feel like gloating. I am sick."

"Shego. If...if you knew a way to stop this. Even if it meant becoming...one again...you'd tell me, right?"

Shego debated that question for a moment. "No." She instantly felt Kim stiffen in her arms.

"Why not?"

"Because as much as I want certain things, and even though I'm willing to steal them, I can't accept that taking them from you is the only way to get them, Kimmie. Think about it. Stoppable couldn't save the world without you. Your family would go nuts, even if I did try to explain it. Not to mention I'd never get a good night's sleep from all the guilt. I've got my regrets, but I don't intend for that to be one of them, ever."

"So...you'd just...die?"

"Don't you get it, Kimmie? I'm fragmented, you're not. Whatever you are, you came to me a whole person, no matter what you used to be. I told you what I did because it's the truth. Maybe, at one time, I did want you back. But lately I'm starting to think it wouldn't matter. And it'd be such a waste, if we did it, only to drop dead the next minute. Let's not forget I'd have no clue where to start, anyway."

"So you're saying that my life is more important than yours?"

"No. I'm saying I've lived a life, and you haven't. No need to rush things."

"I understand all that." Kim's hand tightened around Shego's. "But please don't die, Shego. Please?"

"Can't promise that."

"Well...if it ever comes to the point where you have a choice. Choose to stay here. With me."

"I don't think it works that way, Kimmie."

"It will if you want it enough," Kim said. "Nothing can stop you if you want it enough. I would know."

"Guess you would." Shego closed her eyes, listening to the steady sound of Kim's breathing until she fell asleep.

* * *

Endnotes: Kim and Shego's debate on life and death somehow got me thinking about abortion, hence the title. No, I'm not making a statement, it's just the only title I could decide upon at 5 AM. But then a lot of things become limited at 5 AM, so that doesn't surprise me... 


	7. In Emerald City

Notes: I'm pretending to be philosophical here. But really, it's just a joke.

Chapter 7: In Emerald City

"This can't end well, you know."

"Well, it was YOUR idea to do this, remember? I think it's a little late to start bringing in the doubts now, don't you?"

"But look at them! They're all...sinfully snuggled and everything! I can't work with that!"

"Has it ever occurred to you that some of your little playmates wouldn't 'sinfully snuggle' if you didn't screw with their lives so much that they turned to the nearest person for comfort?"

"You're trying to say that some of this is my fault, aren't you?"

"No, I'm DEFINITELY saying that this is ALL your fault."

"Fine, fine. Should we wake them?"

"I suppose. But it's your mess, so you do it."

* * *

Shego grunted as something sharp prodded her in the side. Without even looking, she reached back with a flaming hand and snapped the offending object in two.

"HEY! You broke my Official People Poker!"

"I keep telling you they don't like that, Long. It's only the dead ones you can poke without complaint. And even then, I'm sure their spirits would be offended."

Neither was a voice she recognized, so Shego slowly turned over.

The first thing she noticed was that they were no longer in the apartment. The couch was still there, at least, and so was Kim, but other than that, everything else had been replaced by a thick fog. Gradually, she also became aware of the two balls of light, one red and one blue. The blue one was trembling in a rather agitated manner, and the broken remains of what seemed to be a very long pole floated just beneath it.

"I knew that energy bar smelled funky," Shego sighed, shaking her head. "I just hope this means I'm dreaming and not crazy."

"You're crazy!" the blue ball cried.

"Well, of course you're not crazy!" the red ball snapped. "Though I could hardly blame you if you were. You see, Long here was AAAAAAH!"

Shego had grabbed the red ball in mid-speech and was now poking it experimentally. "Hmm. So you're not a hallucination."

"Dear lady, if you would be so kind as to release me?"

"In a minute," Shego murmured, continuing to poke. It was actually kind of fun.

"If you really want to know, HE is the one that poked you."

"Oh. Well, that's different, then." Shego casually fired a plasma blast at the blue ball, sending it screaming into the distance.

"That was hardly necessary."

"It was fun, though."

"Point taken. But aren't you the least bit curious as to why we've brought you and your soulmate here?"

"I don't...soulmate? You mean Kimmie?"

"Ah, yes. 'Kimmie,' as you insist on calling her, is your soulmate, for lack of a better phrase. That is, she is, or was, exactly half of your entire soul. As you correctly hypothesized, she is now an entire soul unto herself. And let me tell you, that took some doing."

"Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me a couple of bouncy balls are responsible for what happened to Kimmie and me?"

"Yes. NO! We are not balls! And we do not bounce."

"You're a squishy, glowing ball."

"That is merely a form we have taken so as to not disturb your delicate human minds. Since your dreams so frequently contained childhood scenes, I thought you would be more comfortable with children's toys."

"I'm sorry, but the thought of bouncy balls making my life hell is a bit disturbing, if you get my drift."

The red ball sighed. "Again, we are not mere balls. We are servants of Greater Good. That means we are largely responsible for all the good things that happen to people."

"And yet you royally screwed up MY life," Shego snarled.

"I fear that was mostly Long's fault. You see, he's a transfer from Way of the World, which does most of what you'd consider the bad things. And while he doesn't mean to be, he's very good at his job...his old one, that is."

"So this is all his fault."

The red ball hesitated. "Not entirely. While splitting you was Long's doing, I was the one who placed 'Kimmie' in a new body."

"Why?"

"To be honest, rejoining you two would be even more uncomfortable than the initial split. Also, there was no guarantee the process would have been successful or worthwhile. You could've very well ended up hating each other so much that you might've literally torn yourself in two. I thought it best if you remained separate, but drawn to each other despite that."

"Okay." Shego frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe you better start at the beginning. And a name would be convenient."

"You may refer to me as Crawford."

Shego shook her head. "No wonder you guys are so messed up..."

* * *

"Is she gone yet?"

Kim sighed and peeked over the couch, feeling rather silly. "Of course not. She's right over there, talking to your...um...friend. But I think she's out of earshot, at least."

The blue ball sighed in relief. "Thank goodness! Why, I've never seen such disrespect and disregard for divine beings and manners!"

"I thought you said you've been watching us?" Kim asked suspiciously. "How can you have been watching Shego and NEVER have seen that?"

"Oh. Well...I've never experienced such rudeness personally, then."

"Clearly. I think you'll live, though. I mean, if you really ARE a divine being and all, mortals can't seriously hurt you."

"Was that a shot at me? That sounded a lot like a shot at me."

Kim rolled her eyes. "So explain to me how this is your fault?"

"HEY!"

"Look, there's only four of us here, and so far two agree that this is your fault. The burden of proof is on you, blue boy."

"It's Long, actually, and I'll thank you NOT to blame everything on me before you hear the whole story!"

Kim smirked. "The whole 'comet crashing into Earth' thing was your idea, wasn't it?"

"Arguably."

"In what sense is that debatable, Long?"

"It wasn't SUPPOSED to hit Earth. It was supposed to hit Shego and her brothers."

"It kinda really did."

"Well, no. It was supposed to hit them...and kill them. Instantly."

"And you know this how?"

"They were all scheduled for early departures. I still have the ticket stubs to prove it! But something went wrong...or right, I guess you would say, since it resulted in you getting that body. Anyway, the next thing WE knew, instead of being dead, they were running around with our leftover powers-"

"What?"

Long sighed dramatically. "The comet was less a comet and more a former skipping stone that was taking up space. So it fell to me to get rid of it, and since they were supposed to die anyway, I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone. Literally. Sorta."

"So you threw a rock the size of a football stadium and missed."

"I did NOT miss! It him them, I saw it! They just got up and kept going! After a few days, that is. They must have absorbed some of the divine DNA left in the rock."

"Divine DNA?"

"Hey, I happen to be dumbing this down SEVERELY for YOU, human."

Kim snorted. "Don't bother. My parents taught me better than to throw rocks at people. Especially from great heights. Only causes problems and property damage."

"I've decided. I don't like you much."

"The feeling is mutual. And at least I didn't blast you."

"Point taken."

"So tell me more about this little blunder of yours."

"Hey!"

"What? I said it was a little one."

* * *

Shego was in a surprisingly good mood, all things considered. Something about keeping Crawford under her arm, she suspected. Maybe that was the effect all agents of Greater Good had on people.

"So I should be dead."

"Let me assure you, it wasn't my call to make," Crawford replied. "There was a very big fuss when our superiors found out. Long nearly lost his job over it."

"Why didn't he?"

"I came up with a solution of sorts."

"Kimmie?"

"That, and we would personally oversee the remainder of your lives to prevent any further mishaps on the divine level. The arrangement actually worked out better than I'd hoped. Well, until now."

Shego looked at him...it. "Then you know why my powers are on the blink?"

"I'm afraid you're too perceptive for your own good, my dear. You are indeed dying. Rather, your body is. The reason for that is rather confusing, though. I am of the opinion that the split in your soul negatively impacted your mind, which in turn is struggling to maintain your powers and your body at the same time. Your mind simply isn't used to not having those powers anymore, and it won't part with them."

"And what does the blueberry think?"

"Long insists that the comet's impact is finally catching up with you, and that you are dying like you were supposed to. Well, not exactly like you were supposed to, but you know what I mean."

Shego grunted. "I'm guessing this isn't one of those things I'm going to run away from."

"I am truly sorry, my dear. My hands are tied. The obvious thing would be the removal of your powers, but as I said, your mind is hanging onto them by pure force of will. And I'm sure you know how strong yours is."

"What about Kimmie?"

"I'm...not sure I know what you mean."

"If I die...she's safe, right?"

"Hardly. Surely you know how she feels about you?"

Shego winced. "I meant because we're soulmates."

"Physically, she'd be fine. Mentally...I fear your death would impact her the same way your losing her did you."

"So she'd become evil?"

"Worse. The fact is, you created her. I only gave her a body. While it is true that you were virtually completely independent of each other for a time, that is no longer the case. If you die, I do not think you two will be apart for long."

"You're the brains of this outfit. Can't you come up with something?"

"I have...a theory," Crawford admitted. "But it could be dangerous. Rather than rejoining you two, it would only...merge certain parts of you. You would still be two separate people, just with...pieces of each other. Literally."

"Sounds painful."

"It can be. It also has to be completely mutual. However, I have been forbidden to suggest the idea to more than one of you. My superiors feel that for it to be completely mutual, both of you have to instinctively want this."

"How can Kimmie want this without knowing about it?"

"Well, that is the catch. Would you be willing to try?"

Shego hesitated. She hadn't liked the idea of taking Kim's life away in any sense. This didn't sound quite as bad, but it would still call for some major sacrifice.

"I just...I don't care about me anymore," Shego sighed. "I don't want Kimmie to suffer because of me. And it seems like whether I live or die, she will."

"Then what is it you want most?" Crawford asked.

"I want Kimmie to be happy. And safe. And whole. No matter what it takes."

"So be it." Crawford began to pulse brightly, just before he exploded, encasing Shego's body in blinding red light.

* * *

"Shego isn't coming back with me, is she?" Kim asked quietly.

Long was rather blunt in his answer. "I estimated she had a few more days, but she could choose to check out early. It would simplify things for us, really."

"You don't have a lot of friends, do you?"

"It's an occupational hazard, so no."

"It doesn't even bother you that she's going to die, does it?"

"Not really, no. I was trying to kill her before. Her survival instincts are impressive...but not infinite."

"What if we made a trade?"

Long sighed. "You've seen too many movies with untrue portrayals of the divine. It doesn't work that way. One life is not necessarily equal in value to another. Not even in this case. Besides, it's against the rules."

"Shego is against the rules."

"Well, you see how THAT'S turning out, don't you? Rules don't like being defied, and she's paying for it. You'd be smart to let her go. What has she ever done for you, anyway?"

"If you've watched us and you can't figure that out, me explaining it to you would be pointless. Shego...completes me. She gives me a greater purpose."

"You're practically an agent of Greater Good yourself. What greater purpose is there?"

"Giving yourself to someone, and not expecting anything in return. I do it everyday, but it's different with Shego. With her, I can tell she not only appreciates it, but she needs it. Without each other, we're just...halves."

"You're saying you'd give up your life for that rude, horrible woman?"

"Yeah. It's a people thing. You wouldn't understand."

"Apparently. What is it that you see in her that's worth saving?"

Kim shrugged. "Me."

"Very well. Just remember, what happens next is all YOUR fault."

Before Kim could prepare herself, Long exploded into a dazzling field of electric blue, and then she knew no more.

* * *

Endnotes: For those who don't know, Crawford-Long is a hospital in Georgia. Why I picked those names should be clearer next chapter. Or maybe it already is, but I doubt it.

As a Christian Sunday School student, I once had a lesson on How Things Work In The World. Basically, you have God's Will, and then The Natural Way of Things. For the most part, we like to think God's Will is largely good things. Natural disasters, stuff like that, is Natural Way. At least, that's how I remember it.

If the concepts of Greater Good and Way of the World seem familiar, I based them loosely on the Lords of Order and Chaos, respectively. Or maybe it was that lesson. I don't know, I've read more comics and Neil Gaiman than I have the Bible, and it all blends at some point.

Of course the title comes from The Wizard of Oz.


	8. Halflings

Notes: I always put big, terribly obvious warnings in the notes when there's character death...but only if the story actually contains a scene where a character is actually "seen" as dying and then dead. With that said, no, this isn't a warning.

Chapter 8: Halflings

Kim Possible woke up in her own bed with an empty feeling in her heart. If she had stopped to think about why that was, she probably would've burst into tears and found herself unable to stop. So she didn't stop or think about it all, but instead focused on her window.

The sun was shining, and from its current position, Kim knew she would normally be in school right then. But the very thought of leaving the comfort and safety of her bed seemed alien and frightening now. And there was no telling what she would find in the world beyond her bedroom door.

Without thinking, Kim buried her face in her hands. The scent that immediately wafted into her nostrils was all too familiar. With a choked sob, Kim ripped the black glove off of her hand, and froze in the act of preparing to hurl it at the wall. She found herself bringing the glove back to her face, brushing it lightly over her cheek, and taking deep, shuddering breaths in a half-hearted attempt to calm herself.

She didn't want to be calm. She wanted to be furious. She wanted to march back up to...wherever it was they'd been and kick Long into orbit. Or at least have her father send him into a black hole. Maybe Long would survive, but there were fates worse than death, if you were creative enough.

And thinking about death probably wasn't helping things at all.

Forcing down another round of tears, Kim burrowed under her blanket and tried to think of things that wouldn't make her sad.

Rufus trying to lick banana cream pie off of Bonnie's arm. Monique wheedling Ron into singing "Ebony and Ivory" with her at the school talent show. Jim and Tim building a simulation of a faulty rocket launch for a science project...and getting their school shut down for a week after the resulting explosion.

She giggled a bit at the last one, but the sound was forced at best.

A knock on the door broke into her thoughts, and Kim was glad for the interruption. Especially when she caught a whiff of what could only be her mother's sugar cookies. There was an agreement between them that those cookies were to only be made when there were no men in the house. The evidence was always quickly eaten, washed, and put away before any of the boys got home, and as far as they knew, sugar cookies were one of the few things Mrs. Possible hadn't learned to make.

"Kimmie? Feel up to helping me destroy some evidence?"

Kim sat up and rapidly wiped at her eyes and cheeks. "Sure, Mom." She put on her best smile as her mother came into the room, but she knew it was pointless. Her mother had always had a second sense about when things went wrong, and often all she had to do was act extra nice before guilt loosened guilty lips. While Kim hadn't really done anything wrong, she didn't like hiding things from her parents.

Well, except sugar cookies, and that was only from one of them.

Mrs. Possible sat down beside her daughter on the bed, settling the tray of cookies between them. "I was afraid I'd have to eat these all by myself for a while."

"You know I'll always be your accomplice, Mom," Kim replied, picking up the nearest cookie and taking a big bite.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Mrs. Possible asked innocently, selecting her own cookie.

Kim paused, a little startled. Her mother was almost never that direct. "Oh. Um...well, it's pretty complicated, and-"

"More complicated than neurosurgery," Mrs. Possible murmured between bites. "Times sure have changed since I was a teenager."

Kim turned bright red. "Maybe not that complicated."

"Kimmie, I can't help or lend a sympathetic ear unless you tell what's bothering you. And we both know you will, sooner or later. Mothers are specifically trained for these kinds of things."

"Okay, but you asked for it." Kim took a deep breath. "Is it stupid of me to be upset that Shego might be dead?"

Without missing a beat, Mrs. Possible asked, "Did you care for her?"

"I...yes."

"It's never 'stupid' to miss someone you care about, Kimmie. I won't pretend to know the details of your relationship with Shego, or how they changed, because it's none of my business. But if you have to think about her, remember her as she was in the first moment that you realized you did care. Does that help?"

Kim smiled a little. "Yeah, it really does. Thanks, Mom."

Mrs. Possible leaned over and kissed her daughter's cheek. "You can thank me by helping me get rid of that mess in the kitchen."

"I'll be down in a minute," Kim promised. "Just...need to clear my head a bit."

"I understand. You keep the rest of the cookies." Mrs. Possible patted Kim's hand before leaving the room.

Kim sighed and put away another cookie before getting out of bed. She started to put the black glove under her pillow, then thought better of it and stuffed it into her pocket. Satisfied for the moment, she went downstairs to help her mother with the dishes.

* * *

Kim had expected there to be constant, painful reminders of Shego, but the only ones she found were all in her mind. Green and black apparently just wasn't a common color combination, and maybe that had been part of the appeal for Shego. As for plasma, the only type that Kim encountered was at her mother's job or in the occasional science textbook.

Dr. Drakken made a few attempts at a comeback, but without Shego in his corner, he finally found himself directly in the path of Kim's martial arts prowess. Needless to say, he wasn't as good as taking the hits, and Kim secretly thought they were both very relieved that he got out of the business of evil early.

It took a long time for Ron to accept that Kim actually missed Shego. But that was understandable; if Monkey Fist ever went missing, Ron would simply have a party and then move on. But Monkey Fist wasn't Shego. No one was. The thought that Kim would never meet another person like her was comforting and painful at the same time. She finally understood what Shego had felt like, walking around with only half a soul. But it didn't upset her like she thought it would. And besides, if there was anything that would make Shego rise from the dead to blast someone, it would be Kim intentionally hurting herself, or trying to end her own life in a misguided attempt to be reunited.

Even if Shego was gone, Kim still had a promise to keep. She had to live, for Shego, for herself, and so Crawford and Long could see that some mistakes were good ones, if they were still watching.

* * *

Mrs. Dr. Possible was used to being paged when she was needed. While she didn't prefer it when people in the hospital rushed up and demanded she help them or someone else, she was a doctor first and a woman with preferences second.

And when Ron had that worried, confused look on his face, well, she was all too ready to help in most cases. Especially since the last time she'd seen him, he and Kim had been heading out to deal with Professor Dementor.

Which meant it could be about Kim being hurt.

Ron must've known what she was thinking, because the first thing he did was attempt to put her at ease.

"Kim isn't hurt, Mrs. Dr. P, but...she'd REALLY like to see you now."

"Does not being hurt include not having grown an extra arm, or having the normal ones fall off painlessly?" she couldn't help asking.

Ron blinked as he lead the way. "I'm pretty sure I would've noticed if it was that. Kim showed me what was wrong...several times. And it doesn't hurt, so much as it...makes her a true superhero."

Mrs. Possible stopped short. "Ronald, are you going to tell me-"

"Kim has Shego's plasma!" Ron blurted out. "Well, not hers, the color is off, but she's the only one we knew who had it, and I just assumed-"

"Show me."

Ron led her to a room at the end of the hall. "I'll, um, wait out here." He lowered his voice. "She's not real good at controlling it yet, but we're hopeful."

Mrs. Possible took a deep breath and entered the room, only to find her daughter thumbing through a pamphlet on sunburns. "Kimmie?"

Kim looked up and smiled. "Hi, Mom. Um, I thought you should see this." Shifting the pamphlet to her right hand, she fully extended her arm. Instantly, the pamphlet vanished in a swirling cloud of red and black ion gas. "It started during the mission. Mostly it reacts to clenching and unclenching my fist. But it only seems to work when I'm pointing in a certain direction."

"It doesn't hurt?" Mrs. Possible asked helplessly, touching Kim's knee.

Kim laid her head against her mother's arm. "No, I'm fine. It just...reminds me of Shego, that's all."

"I'm sorry, honey," Mrs. Possible murmured, kissing the top of her head.

"It's okay. I feel closer to her, a little." Kim bit her lip. "Mom, I need to tell you something. It's pretty big."

"Is it bigger than this?"

"Well...it sorta explains this. It's more about Shego than me. Oh, and you'll want to be sitting for this."

* * *

"I've got it figured out!" Wade announced, sounding pleased with himself. "Your arm is acting like a metal detector, Kim. When you point in the right direction, which happens to be east, it reacts."

"So what's to the east?" Kim asked.

"That's the weird part," Wade replied. "As it just so happens, your next mission. There's an orphanage requesting you."

"For what, mentoring?" Kim guessed.

"Not exactly. One of the newer kids is throwing a tantrum that's about a five on the Richter scale. At least, that's how they described it. They can't do anything with her."

"Well, babysitting I can do. I guess that includes ending tantrums of all types. This shouldn't be too hard. Tell Ron I'll handle this one solo. I don't want him to have a cousin Shawn flashback on me."

* * *

"She's never acted this way before," explained the woman that led Kim past a crowd of nervous children. "She was always a quiet child, and kept mostly to herself, but she never gave us any problems."

"So no idea what set her off, Ms. Tatum?" Kim asked, smiling at a few kids whose eyes widened as she passed them.

"All we know is it happened roughly a minute into finger painting," the woman answered. "We've never done that before, one of our foster couples suggested it."

"What's her name?"

Ms. Tatum paused. "She either wouldn't or couldn't give us one. Most of the staff calls her Emmy, though."

"Any reason why?"

"Short for Emerald. She's nuts about anything green. We made sure she had plenty of green paint, but she was still upset. I think she's just about all cried out now. You should be able to talk to her."

"I don't mean to brag, but she wouldn't happen to be a fan, would she?"

Ms. Tatum chuckled softly. "I'd hoped that would be the case. But I can't ever recall her mentioning you."

"Don't worry, I'm great at first impressions," Kim assured her. "Just leave everything to me."

"Well, she's in there," Ms. Tatum said, pointing to a nearby room. "Good luck. I hope you really can do anything."

Kim decided not to add that she hoped the same as she slipped into the room. At once, she could she why she'd been summoned.

Chairs had been tossed about the room, and there were large, drying paint puddles splattered on nearly all of the desks. At the far end of the room sat a young, raven-haired girl with her head on a desk. Even from that distance, Kim could see dark green paint smeared all over her thin legs.

Kim hesitantly ventured forward, although she made no real effort to be extra quiet. The last thing she wanted was to startle the girl and restart this whole mess.

But Emmy didn't move, not even when Kim entered her line of sight. She did look exhausted, as Ms. Tatum had suspected, but also very upset.

Kim took a moment to look the girl over, and spotted more dark green paint caked on her arms. Her hands were strangely clean, though. Then she noticed the completely blank piece of white construction paper on the desk, and something clicked in her mind.

"They didn't have your shade, huh?" Kim asked softly.

Emmy's startlingly green eyes flicked up at her, and then down to the desk again. She absently brushed her red, tear-streaked cheeks with the back of her hand, but said nothing.

Kim knelt in front of desk, smiling hopefully. "Mind if I try?" There was no protest, so she eased the girl's mixing tray away, and began to mix green and white in an empty spot.

"I tried that," Emmy reported sadly. "Not light enough."

"I see." Kim left the tray alone. "So were you upset because they didn't have your shade, and you couldn't mix it yourself with what they gave you?"

Emmy nodded. "I never start a picture if I don't have all the right colors. It'd be pointless."

"What was your picture going to be?"

"A frog. I need a really light green for his belly."

"Are you sure it's not for you?" Kim asked quietly, tapping her green elbow lightly.

Emmy's cheeks flushed, and she quickly shoved her hands under the desk.

"Don't be ashamed. People change their color all the time. It's just that they usually do it through tanning."

"I don't want to be tan. I want to be light green," Emmy said, poking out her bottom lip and letting it quiver a bit.

Kim resisted the urge to say she'd invented that look. "How about we compromise?"

Emmy eyed her warily. "What you got?"

Kim smirked at her. "As an act of good faith, I give you a present. Then we get out of here, get you some paint you can work with, and have a sleepover at my place. If you want to come back here tomorrow, we will. If you don't, I'll make some calls and see what I can do."

Emmy took a long time to answer. "What kind of present?"

"I think you'll like it." Kim reached into her mission bag and pulled out a pair of night vision shades Wade had invented. "It won't make you green, but it's the next best thing."

Emmy put on the shades and gasped. "Everything's green!" She waved a hand before her eyes and squealed excitedly. "It's my shade!"

Kim dug out her Kimmunicator. "Wade? Situation handled. Oh, and tell Mom to expect one more for dinner."

"Sure. No problems, then?" Wade asked.

"No," Kim said softly, looking over to find Emmy still admiring her hands. "Just a little amensia...but I guess that's to be expected."

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing, Wade. We'll talk later." Kim sighed as she ended the call, then put on a bright smile. "Hey, Emmy. Can I ask you something?"

Emmy paused and looked at her. "I guess."

Kim held out her hand. "Do you trust me?"

Emmy didn't move. "Um...no. But...I want to."

"I made a promise to someone once. She's...gone now, but I still want to keep it. And I think the only way to do that is if I look out for you. But I can't if you won't let me."

"No one ever...wanted me before," Emmy said quietly, staring at the floor.

"Sometimes things change. Sometimes for the best." Kim lowered her hand and stood up. "If you don't want to come with me, that's fine. Keep the shades. Just don't make this a habit, okay?" She turned and headed for the door, only to feel a small hand grab hers.

"You owe me some paint," Emmy declared with a frown.

"That was assuming you came with me," Kim pointed out. "Are you coming with me?"

"Okay," Emmy decided after a moment's thought. "But I STILL don't trust you. What's your name, anyway?"

"Kim. Kim Possible."

Emmy stopped short.

"You don't like it?" Kim asked slowly.

Emmy stared at her for a long moment. "You look more like a Kimmie to me. I'm gonna call you that."

"I've been called worse," Kim reasoned with a smile.

* * *

"You know, I think this might actually work, Long."

"Of course it will, Crawford. It was MY idea."

"Oh, really? I seem to recall putting souls in a younger, separate body was something I did first. And as I recall, that was to clean up YOUR mess, wasn't it?"

"No one likes a bragger, Crawford."

"Just admit that I was right. Admit that Shego living as long as she did was a good thing."

"I will not! She was a horrible child, and she became a horrible woman...which she shouldn't have been allowed to do! Why do you think I took away her powers? So she couldn't blast me again if we ever bring her back here, that's why!"

"That's just childish. I suppose you're going to take back what little power Kim has?"

"Naturally. It led her to the child. There is no longer any reason for her to keep it."

"Well, if you must take it back, then you must. But promise me one thing, Long."

"What's that, Crawford?"

"DON'T do it by throwing a rock at her."

"Oh, you're just NEVER going to let that go, are you?"

* * *

Endnotes: This is one of those endings I only half-planned for. That usually spells trouble, but we'll see. Initially, the title only referred to Kim and Shego being halved, but now I think it also refers to them being siblings as well. I suppose I could have had a scene where Emmy actually enters the Possible home, and if I lose enough sleep over it and get enough complaints, I just might.

Reviews!

Rina Cat

That's so sad... I'm not even sure whether I want to read the ending. This is heart breaking.

I like to think I'm good at Angst. But I never torture characters (or readers) without a good reason. Which is another way of saying I hope you haven't given up on me yet.


	9. Real Kids Don't Eat Broccoli

Notes: It's always scary for me when a story doesn't want to end.

Chapter 9: Real Kids Don't Eat Broccoli

"No, I keep telling you, it has to be lighter!"

Emmy looked up from playing with her still very new plush frog to find Kim chewing out a very unfortunate cashier.

"Ma'am, I keep telling you, we only have so many shades of green left," the cashier replied fearfully. "If you like, I can call our store in Upperton and see if they have-"

Kim stared at him in disbelief. "What good will THAT do? WE'RE NOT IN UPPERTON!"

"Ma'am, please! There's no need to shout-"

Kim grabbed the cashier's collar and yanked him forward. "Okay. Now you're going to force me into doing something I didn't want to do." She lowered her voice and motioned over her shoulder. "See that kid with the frog over there?"

The cashier looked Emmy's way, and, feeling somewhat obligated, she waved her frog at him.

"You only need to know two things about her," Kim whispered. "She's nuts for pale green, and she's a pyromaniac."

The cashier's eyes widened.

"So do you want to sell me some pale green paint, or do you want your store burned down?" Kim asked calmly.

"I...I want to sell you some pale green paint."

"I thought you might." Kim released his collar. "Go ahead. We'll wait."

The cashier threw one more terrified glance at Emmy and fled towards the back of the store.

Kim sighed and walked back to Emmy.

"You lied," Emmy observed quietly.

Kim looked repentant for about two seconds. "For a good cause. Your cause. So I don't want any speech about-"

"No speech. Just noticing." Emmy held her frog at eye level and stuck her tongue out in an obvious imitation of him.

"Named him yet?"

"Squishy," Emmy said seriously. "His name is Squishy."

"Okay."

When Kim offered no further comment, Emmy looked up at her curiously. "That's it? No weird faces? No corrections?"

Kim shook her head. "He's your frog."

"But his name is Squishy."

"Well, it's a good name. He IS squishy." Kim poked the frog to demonstrate. "As I'm sure you both noticed."

"Okay." Emmy stared at her a moment longer. "Squishy says thanks for not making fun of his name."

"Tell him he's very welcome," Kim murmured as she spotted the cashier returning.

Emmy noticed her watching. "Don't yell at him again. I think he might call the police."

Kim threw Emmy an odd look, but forced herself not to say anything as the cashier ran up, carrying a bulletin board with a veritable rainbow of colors on it.

"These...are...all of them," he gasped, shoving the board at her.

"That one," Kim and Emmy said together, pointing at the same particularly pale green.

"Be...right...back," the cashier gasped, turning around and running off again.

"You knew my shade?" Emmy asked.

"Good memory," Kim said quickly.

"What was that look for?"

"What look?"

"That look. You looked at me funny. I saw you."

"You just...reminded me of someone. Only it wasn't something she would've ever said."

Emmy frowned thoughtfully. "She yelled?"

"With growls and grunts thrown in for variety, yes. She definitely yelled."

"Did you like her?"

Kim took a long moment to answer. "Yes. Very much."

"Do you like me?" Emmy asked quietly.

"Yes."

"But not very much?"

"We'll see," Kim answered, patting her on the head.

* * *

"How attached are you to all that body paint?" Kim asked as they reached her door.

Emmy paused. "Why?"

"Because no matter how cute you are, my mother won't let you eat at the table like that. Even the shades would be pushing it."

"So I have to take a bath," Emmy said, shrugging.

"I was thinking more that I'd have to help you. You've got that stuff on pretty good."

Emmy didn't seem as nonchalant about the bath anymore. "Why you?"

"It's either me or my mother, and you know me. At least, you've known me about three hours longer. But I won't force you to let me help. You put it on by yourself, so maybe you can get it off by yourself. If you can't, you've got your pick of helpers, but I assume you don't want any boys seeing you during your bath."

"You could have mentioned this earlier, you know."

Kim nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about it then."

"What were you thinking about?"

"The woman I told you about earlier. The one I miss."

"Oh. Her again," Emmy murmured. "You should write her a letter. Get your thoughts down on paper. So you won't be thinking of her all the time. It's distracting."

Kim stared at the little girl, wondering again if she knew more than she was saying. "That's a good idea. I'll try it, if you try the bath and don't make a fuss."

"Deal. But no helping unless I ask you first."

"Fair enough." Kim opened the door. "Mom! Dad! I'm home! With company!"

"In the kitchen, Kimmie!" Mrs. Possible called.

"See?" Emmy said at once. "Everyone likes that name better than plain ol' Kim."

Kim refrained from commenting as she guided Emmy into the kitchen, where her mother was in the middle of loading up the dishwasher. Right away, she noticed that Emmy slowed down and moved slightly behind her. It had to be a general fear of new people, because Kim knew for a fact that her mother was one of least threatening people when it came to first impressions.

"Mom, this is Emmy. She followed me home and we're currently in talks about keeping her."

Ten minutes ago, Emmy might have smiled slightly at the little joke. Now, though, she moved even further behind Kim as Mrs. Possible looked their way, and even clutched Kim's pants leg without realizing it.

"My, that's certainly a lot of green you have on, dear," Mrs. Possible commented with a smile.

"We like green," Kim supplied, waiting for Emmy to jump in, and getting disappointed again. "I explained to her how the table is a paint-free environment. We just wanted to stop in and say hi first."

"Hi," Emmy muttered, not moving an inch.

"Hello, Emmy. Is there anything in particular you'd like for dinner?"

Emmy only hesitated for a second. "Green stuff. Lots of it."

Mrs. Possible blinked. "What did you have in mind, exactly?"

"Broccoli, peas, green beans, lettuce, and cucumbers. Oh, and sliced pears for dessert. And kiwi fruit, if you have some. Please."

"I...I'll see what I can round up," Mrs. Possible said slowly, shooting a look at Kim.

"Right this way, Emmy," Kim said quickly, leading her to the stairs. She waited until they were halfway up before asking, "What was that?"

Emmy looked confused. "What was what? She asked what I wanted, and I said."

"Emmy, have you ever heard of the four food groups?"

"I'm only interested in the one with green stuff in it."

"But this isn't healthy! You need meat and bread and dairy!"

"That wasn't part of our deal. You said I need a bath. You never said I had to eat that other stuff."

"What will it take to get you to eat the other stuff, then?" Kim asked.

Emmy shook her head. "Nothing, since I won't."

"What if I got Mom to let you wear the night vision shades at the table?"

"Nope. It wouldn't taste green."

Kim shook her head. "Would you eat them if I begged you?"

"Nope."

"If I paid you?"

"Nope."

"If I said I liked you very much?"

Emmy glanced at her. "Would it be true?"

"I'd like you a whole lot better if I knew you were eating a balanced meal."

"Green stuff is healthy."

"It's not the only food that's healthy, Emmy. Trust me."

Emmy looked over her shoulder at Kim. "I do, a little. But not that much."

While she knew Emmy probably hadn't meant it to sound the way it did, Kim couldn't help feeling a little hurt. But she tried not to let on as she showed Emmy the bathroom. Although Kim couldn't help feeling hurt again when Emmy shut the door and locked it as well.

* * *

"Is that little girl who I think she is, Kimmie?" Mrs. Possible asked as she heated up a plate in the microwave.

Kim sighed and blew an errant strand of hair out of her eyes, drumming her fingers on the table. "Yes. And no. It's complicated. She's not Shego, exactly, but they have so much in common that it's almost creepy at times."

"I hope you don't mean their tempers match?"

"Well, not since I found her, at least. But I'm positive Shego didn't limit herself to green foods only."

"Maybe it's a phase?" Mrs. Possible suggested.

"I hope so, but I haven't been able to talk her out of it."

"Children can be surprisingly stubborn, Kimmie. Believe me, I know."

"Are you trying to imply something about me when I was that age?" Kim demanded.

Mrs. Possible smiled. "Well, you never overate when it came to greens. But I'd be shocked if Emmy managed to clean her plate. I've never seen a child eat nothing but greens."

"I wonder if Shego was like this...before the comet. Or after, for that matter."

"I don't know that we'll ever find out now, Kimmie. But Shego seemed like a very private person. There were probably some things about herself that she wouldn't even have told you. Did she ever really trust anyone completely?"

Kim wanted to say yes, but she couldn't. She didn't really know much about Shego's childhood. She knew about Team Go, but only what they themselves had told her. She had no idea when and how Shego had hooked up with Dr. Drakken, or even how long they'd been together. For all the things Shego had told her, there was so much that had been left out, either purposely or unintentionally.

"You're thinking of her again."

Kim blinked and turned her head, surprised to find Emmy staring at her with an almost jealous look in her eyes. "I guess so."

Emmy didn't say another word as she sat down across from Kim. She was wearing an old pair of Kim's pink footy pajamas, and looked none too happy about being encased from head to toe in pink cotton. Or maybe it was just that she'd caught Kim thinking about Shego again. Whatever the reason, her face didn't brighten until Mrs. Possible set a plate of nothing but green food in front of her. Emmy needed no further prompting, as she began shoveling broccoli into her mouth at a fantastic rate.

Kim could only look on in disgusted awe. She only ate broccoli now because it was good for her, and even then she usually doused it in cheese sauce and closed her eyes. But Emmy seemed to actually enjoy it, if she was even tasting it at all.

Jim and Tim ventured into the kitchen, having heard about the new houseguest. They took one look at what she was eating, made grossed out faces at each other, and ran right back upstairs.

Emmy had cleaned her plate in a matter of minutes. She let out a hearty belch and looked at Mrs. Possible expectantly.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have kiwi or pears. But there's some lime jello in-"

"I'll take that," Emmy said at once.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Emmy, how long have you been eating nothing but green?"

Emmy paused. "Um...one day."

Kim stared at her. "What? You mean you've never done this before?"

"No, but I always wanted to. I just never had a choice until today. Nobody ever asked me what I wanted. I like having a choice."

"So it's not that you can't eat other things, you just don't want to."

"They're okay. But I like green stuff better."

"But-"

"It's fine, Kimmie," Mrs. Possible interrupted. "The broccoli would just go bad if someone didn't eat it."

"See? I'm helping!" Emmy declared, sticking out her tongue at Kim.

Kim nearly snapped off a nasty reply without thinking, but somehow reminded herself that Emmy was a child, not Shego, and that her mother was still in the room.

* * *

"Where am I going to sleep?" Emmy asked.

Kim had been expecting that question, and was prepared for it. "Since you're so nuts about choices, you've got two: you can either sleep on the floor, or share my bed. But I'm warning you now, my sheets aren't green, and if you do anything to make them green, then you're on the floor anyway."

"You were nicer back at the store," Emmy muttered, grabbing a pillow and sitting on the floor.

"Yeah, well, so were you," Kim countered, drawing back her blanket.

"Maybe you're just not good with kids."

"I'm a part-time babysitter. I'm good with kids," Kim snapped.

"Then you're just not good with me," Emmy decided.

"I got you to come here, where you have choices and green food, didn't I?"

"Those are just perks. They're not why I really came with you." Emmy turned her back on Kim. "I thought we'd learn to like each other. That you could be my big sister. But you can't like me, since you're always thinking about...that lady you like so much."

It took Kim a moment to realize that Emmy was jealous of Shego. Personally, she didn't think her thoughts had turned to Shego that often, and even if they had, wasn't that more Emmy's fault than her own? Not that the child would understand or accept the blame either way.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Emmy, but you can't just replace someone I've known for years in one night. It doesn't work that way. She was very special to me, and-"

"I know. And I'm not, right?" Emmy sniffled. "If you don't care about me, you should've just left me at the orphanage."

"And if you can't trust me, you should've stayed there. I brought you here because I thought you'd be happier. But if you're not, then we'll find you a new home right after breakfast tomorrow."

"Good!" Emmy shot one last dark look at Kim before flopping across her pillow.

Kim sighed and shook her head. Somehow, even Shego had never seemed this frustrating. But Kim was still hoping that Emmy wouldn't prove as stubborn. Maybe if they both slept on the matter, they'd feel better in the morning. At least, that's what she was hoping.

* * *

_"You're a real piece of work, kid. You're gonna screw your life up, and you didn't even get hit by a comet."_

Emmy had never heard the voice before, but she knew at once who it belonged to. "Go away! You had your chance to be with Kimmie! It's my turn!"

_"Yeah? Then why are you throwing it away?"_

"I'm not! She is! She keeps thinking about you!"

_"Listen up, runt. Kimmie and I are a package deal. You can't get one without the other, dead or alive. You don't have to understand it; you just have to know it. The way I see it, you've got a choice. You can either stick with us, or you can run, and just be stuck with me. And if you run, I'll never let you stop, so you better have comfortable shoes on."_

"I don't have to do anything you say! You're dead!"

_"You're right. You don't have to, and I am. But when I was alive, Kimmie was mine. That's more than you can say, squirt. If you really want to stay in her life, you'll shut up and listen to me."_

* * *

The next morning, Kim yawned and sat up in bed. "Okay, Emmy," she sighed, "time for your choice. You staying or going?"

There was no response, so she tried again. "The silent treatment is not an answer, Emmy. Choose, or I choose for you."

When there was still no answer, Kim growled under her breath and climbed out of bed. "Look, I SAID-" She froze as she spotted Emmy's pillow, and no Emmy to go with it. Her gaze swept back and forth across the room, but there was still no sign of the little girl, or the frog plushie that she'd carried absolutely everywhere yesterday.

There was, however, an apparent mode of escape: an open window, and just below it, an arrow made out of green and black jellybeans, pointing outside. Kim knew for a fact that Emmy had taken the rest, since she'd watched the girl meticulously sift through three bags of the stuff last night, but hadn't bothered to question it at the time.

Kim forced herself to remain calm as she stretched out her trembling left arm and began to gradually point in every direction. A faint red and black aura finally appeared when she pointed at her stereo, but then it winked out completely, and no amount of pointing or hoping brought it back.

"Okay. No reason to panic, Kim," she told herself. "Just get dressed, throw everything you might need in a bag, and start running. Can't afford to lose what's left of her trail, because there's no telling how long she's been gone." When that didn't really help, she added, "She's just a kid. An impulsive, stubborn kid who loves green. No big. No reason to feel like you made her do it."

Yet when Kim looked in the mirror, she couldn't ignore the odd, empty feeling that told her she'd lost half of herself all over again.

* * *

Endnotes: The title is a reference to a Tiny Toons episode of the same name, in which most of the characters had been replaced by androids, and the only way to tell them from real toons was that they all ate broccoli.

Reviews!

Shatterpath

That was completely FASCINATING. What a wild idea, well done. The fact that some of it made little sense actually impresses me more than having it spelled out for me. You treated your readers like we have some intelligence and our imaginations can keep up with yours. LOVE it.

_Don't give me too much credit, I just couldn't bear to write a scene where Shego actually died. I'm a big chicken and now everyone knows it..._

* * *

Lizzy Hakubi

Love it! very good story! Never thought of the challenge at the forum being made into something like this!

_Well, just about any answer to that challenge had to be imaginative, so I can't take too much credit for the end result._

* * *

Amethyst Wind

Powerful stuff, powerful indeed.

I remember when I started reading this story about a month ago, I liked it because lots of people had compared Kim and Shego but this was the first to actually say that they were the same.

I read through this whole story in the course of about an hour so it never stopped for me, I could see it in my head the whole time and I never disliked what I saw, it's a truly great story and deserves recognition, and I hope that this isn't the last story you'll do.

_Why do people keep assuming my next story is my last? Did someone put a hit out on me?_

* * *

Rina Cat

sniffles

Excuse me while I cry at the corner.

cries

It was a good ending. I'm still pretty sad that the old Shego had to die but this was very touching.

_It was nothing I enjoyed doing, I assure you. But even doing it this way seemed pretty impossible. I mean, I could count the kids I've met who genuinely enjoy broccoli on one hand and have fingers left over._

* * *

Mystic Elf

Oh! This is such a perfect (pre?)ending!

And, because I'm all out of constructive criticism for the day; I offer you the unconditional praise such an original piece demands.

Also; please I beg of you - another chapter to..you know, round it all off?

Oh yeah! I don't believe you semi-killed Shego! It's weird how you've just managed to just write someone out like that, yet I don't feel so bad about it, because really, she's alive like when.. she. found, Kim? Just trying to comment on the writer's ability to mess with human emotion...

_That's just it, I didn't write Shego out because I couldn't, so I took the cheap way out and forced you to assume along with Kim that Shego was dead. Imagine my surprise when someone actually credited me with assuming you all had imagination enough to envision it! Maybe I should cheat more often..._

_The Emmy thing is weird. Of course you're to assume it's Shego reborn, but she has no memory of being Shego or her life up to now, and Kim notices the similarities but can't really comment on them out loud, and everyone's all confused...just as me and my sinister porpoises intended. Because we're evil. And sinister. And semi-aquatic. On Tuesdays._

* * *

Blackfire 18

(Gah, sorry I've been dragging my butt as far as reviewing--I've been insanely busy...)

Anywho, another brilliantly done few chapters and I HAVE been waiting for more...so I do hope that you will be updating soon!

Hey, great shot at being philosophical; I can say I've had my bouts with that whole affair and apparently whatever makes sense in my head doesn't make sense to others when I babble on about it. Oh well. Props to you!

Please Update!

_Hey, you won't catch ME complaining about reviewers being busy. No one forces you to review, and frankly, I've been busy myself with classes and personal issues. Every review is a pleasant surprise for me no matter when I get it, so don't worry about it._


	10. Lilypads

Notes: The final chapter. Really this time. I mean it!

Chapter 10: Lilypads

Emmy didn't want to admit that she hadn't thought the escape plan through all that well. That she'd planned ahead at all, considering the stress she'd been under at the time, was worthy of note. Of course, the only one who might be impressed by that was Kim, and since Emmy was running away from her in the first place...well, it made the whole idea of being proud of herself rather pointless.

And she had a feeling it would only invite more taunting from that older, unwelcome voice that had made itself known in her head recently. Thankfully, it had mostly lapsed into silence now. In the past few hours, it had only suggested directions in which to run, and the tips almost always paid off immediately. Emmy came to realize that much as she hated that voice, it was helping her a great deal. It obviously had some experience with running away, more than she did, anyway.

Emmy had only given food a passing thought, and had grabbed some jellybeans on the way out, figuring she'd find better food later. Only she hadn't counted on people being naturally worried about a lone, lost little girl half-covered in dirt with a wild look in her eyes. They were, of course, and she could hardly get near any real food without being noticed. So she'd been forced to stick with the jellybeans, eating them only when the voice suggested she stop for a bit, and then only four every stop. The number had been reduced to two later on, and Emmy could no longer recall who had come up with the idea, only that it was making her limited stash last longer.

Not once did it occur to Emmy that if Kim had woken up at her usual time and set out after her at once, she would've been found by now. Nor was she aware of the fact that two jellybeans shouldn't have given her the constant rush she was feeling, and that it had little or nothing to do with the sugar.

* * *

"How is she staying ahead of me?" Kim muttered, pausing to check a small footprint in the dirt. "No way she can move this fast on those little legs of hers."

What Kim didn't say aloud, though, was that she knew exactly how Emmy was doing it. There was really only one possible way, and it was the exact same thing that had led Kim to Emmy in the first place: comet power. Never mind that there was no solid explanation as to how she'd gotten it. For all Kim knew, her reddish-black brand was contagious and she'd passed it on by holding Emmy's hand. Or she'd simply activated something in the girl without either of them realizing it.

But if Emmy didn't know anything about comet power, and had managed to use it already, why weren't there signs of it? There was no scorched ground, no pacing footprints, no sign at all that Emmy was scared or confused about what had to be happening to her. Kim couldn't see any way for that to be possible, unless something or someone was guiding Emmy. If it was who Kim thought it was, there was something else to worry about: why was Shego steering Emmy away from her?

* * *

"You know, you're a pretty good runaway, kid. We could've done some real damage as partners, the two of us."

Emmy didn't say anything, and focused instead on the familiar flavors of green and black jellybeans in her mouth.

"The thing is, you're running away from the one person you need most. Now, make no mistake about it, Kimmie will catch up. You need to figure out what you're going to do when that happens."

"It doesn't matter," Emmy muttered. "Just because she's following me doesn't mean she wants me to stay with her. It just means she doesn't want me to be lost."

"Well, here's a hint: running away kinda implies that you don't want to stay with her. So which is it?"

"I can't stay with her! All she does is think about you!"

"Yeah, we've been through that already. You want her, you get me, too. If you force Kimmie to choose, you'll just be a runaway with a broken heart. By the way, this deal is non-negotiable, so when you're ready to give up and go home to all that tasty green stuff, just say so."

"No," Emmy said stubbornly. "It's either you or me. She can't have both."

"Interesting theory. But what makes you think I'm going anywhere if she does choose you? Either way, both of you will have me on the brain. So running away because of me seems a bit silly now, doesn't it?"

"Shut up," Emmy growled.

"Well, you'll be glad to know that I don't help rude little girls. You're on your own, runt."

Emmy felt the presence fading, and was glad it was gone. But it was then that she realized just how tired she was, and no amount of jellybeans would change that. She sat down and leaned against a tree, planning to rest for just a few minutes. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

* * *

Five hours later, Emmy woke up to find that she had slept late into the afternoon, and that there was at least one more person better at running away than she was. If the red hair on the edge of her vision was any indicator, she was currently curled up in Kim's lap. What really surprised her was that Kim had only moved her to do that much.

Moving as slowly as she could, Emmy carefully slipped out of Kim's arms. She had gone maybe three steps when a hand caught hers.

"If you're hungry for something more filling than jellybeans, I've got some leftover jello. But I'll only share it if you sit down and eat it with me."

Emmy was about to refuse, but her stomach let out an audible gurgle at the thought of passing up free green food, and she slowly sank to the ground, looking thoroughly defeated. Somehow, though, it didn't ruin the taste of the jello at all.

"I've got something else for you, too," Kim said when they were done eating. "It's that letter you suggested I write. You ran off before I could show it to you."

Emmy glared at her.

"You need to read it, Emmy. You need to understand something about me...and her. But sitting here and looking at you now, I still can't explain it. The letter does."

Hesitantly, Emmy accept the letter and began to read.

* * *

I miss you.

I love you.

There, I said it. I never did while you were here, and I regret that more than anything else. But you knew, didn't you? At the end, you had to know. I'd never been that scared in my life, and you would definitely know that.

And just when I've lost you, I find you all over again. I think.

I don't know where Emmy came from, but when I look at her, I know I'm meant to look after her. It's almost like I'm finally learning about your own childhood. I feel like it's my job to make sure she got the chances you never did. To have a real family, to be loved, to live without being scarred for life. I'll take care of her, the way I tried to take care of you, and this time I won't fail.

I promise.

I love you.

I miss you.

I'll never forget you, Shego...my enemy, my sister, my soulmate.

* * *

Kim was completely exhausted when she finally got home, and it took the last of her strength just to climb into bed and close her eyes.

Letting go was one of the hardest things she'd ever done. But she'd managed it with Shego, and she'd done it again with Emmy. It was still so difficult to expose herself completely, to let her guard down with no idea of whether or not her trust would be rewarded or betrayed. Yet, she knew it had been the right thing to do, no matter what the results were.

Emmy had turned out to be more like Shego than either of them knew. She was just as determined to push people away and make it on her own. Kim couldn't really blame her for that, and had let the girl walk away from her, and with her letter, no less. But Kim didn't need it to remember her promise to Shego, and maybe Emmy did.

Shego had led Emmy out of the Possible home for a reason. Kim could only guess at what it was, but she wouldn't go against it. Not if both Shego and Emmy felt that strongly about it.

Leaving, however, wasn't the only thing Emmy apparently felt strongly about.

Because when Kim woke up the next morning, her back seemed to have gained a little extra weight.

"I had to come back on my own," Emmy whispered. "I'll let you take care of me, but I won't let you do everything for me."

"Deal," Kim said softly. Then she sniffed and made a face. "So are you going to take a bath on your own, or do you need some help? You smell like an armpit."

"I was running away," Emmy pointed out. "There's no baths when you run away."

"But you're home now," Kim replied.

"I am?" Emmy asked quietly.

Kim reached up and stroked her hair. "Yes. You are."

"So I'm Emmy Possible?"

"Only if you take a bath. No little sister of mine is going to smell like an armpit. Especially if she plans on sharing my bed."

* * *

"So this kid sister thing is permanent?" Ron asked. "And the red glowy stuff wasn't?" he added, wiggling his fingers.

"As near as I can tell," Kim replied, "yes on both counts."

Ron looked thoughtful as they watched Emmy roll around in the grass of the Possibles' front yard. "I have to say, unless Shego was a closet grass roller, Emmy doesn't act much like her."

Kim smiled. "Oh, she does when she wants something. Any other time, she acts...well, like a kid. Last night, she stole a pair of Jim's pajamas."

Ron looked confused, disgusted, and curious at the same time. "Dare I ask why?"

Kim shrugged. "They were green."

"Ah. Did she...wear them?"

"No. She folded them into a lilypad for Squishy."

Ron blinked. "Who?"

"The frog. The one in her pocket."

Ron actually turned a little green. "Then...she shouldn't be rolling around-"

Kim rolled her eyes. "He's a plush frog, Ron. He'll live."

"Oh." Ron took a deep breath. "Um. How do you know that?"

Kim gave him an amused look. "Plushies usually have a pretty long life span. When there's only one kid playing with them, anyway."

Ron glared at her. "I meant, how do you know the frog's name?"

"I'm a big sister. It's my job. If the tweebs had any toy robots, I'd know their names, too. But they'd probably be named things like Crushinator and Oblitifier."

"Squishy is starting to grow on me, actually. So what does he do?"

"Exactly what it sounds like he does."

"Squishes things?"

"Just himself. And even that takes some outside influence."

Ron blinked slowly. "So he pretty much sucks?"

Kim smirked. "You couldn't convince Emmy of that."

"But it sounds like he has no entertainment value at all."

"I like to think it's less him, and more that he came from me that she values."

"Did she tell you that?"

Kim sighed. "Didn't I just say I like to think that?"

"Just asking. I'm new to the whole sibling thing."

"Me, too. At least, I've never had a sister to call my own."

"Is there a big difference?"

"Have you ever seen the tweebs wearing skirts?"

"No?"

"Then there's a difference. She goes through my closet whether I'm in the room or not. And she found my old Shego suit."

"Why do you even still have it? Why not-" Ron trailed off as he caught the look in Kim's eyes. "Oh. Right." He coughed. "Does it fit?"

"Of course not. She's too tiny."

"I meant you, actually."

"Like a glove," Kim answered at once.

Ron was a little startled by her answer. "You put it on?"

"Once a month."

"KP, that's...not healthy, is it?"

"I do it as much for me as I do it for Emmy. She thinks I look like a superhero in it. Isn't that odd, Ron? She had no idea who I was when we met, and she thinks Shego's colors make me a superhero."

Ron shrugged. "Well, even Shego used to be Team Go material. And so were you, for a day. Personally, I think you could wipe the floor with them, powers or no. I have to admit, Shego never looked bad in that thing. Well, she did, but not...you know what I mean."

"I'm afraid to say I do," Kim muttered, shaking her head.

"Um, speaking of Shego, the little munchkin had any, ah, hot flashes?"

"Just the once, when she ran away. And I'm starting to think maybe I just imagined it, that she's just a really tough kid."

"No surprise there. She is a Possible. Or a Shego. And between the two, I'd definitely say she's capable of anything."

* * *

"This is where I get off, runt. Take care of our Kimmie, okay?"

That was the last thing the voice had told Emmy. She couldn't forget that, even if she'd wanted to.

Honestly, though, Kimmie took pretty good care of herself already. Emmy took great pleasure in knowing that her big sister could beat up anyone for miles around. Not that she would, but if it came to that, Kimmie would handle things. Unfortunately, Kimmie refused to teach Emmy anything beyond the basics until she was "older and mature enough to know the difference between defending and bullying."

For some reason, the thought that Kimmie saw her as a potential bully also made Emmy very happy. To date, she had only claimed one victim: a thick-headed boy that had tried to take Squishy from her. Emmy thought she'd shown great restraint, in that she'd only bloodied his nose, rather than broken his arm. Kimmie hadn't taught her that, at least not on purpose, but it had been very useful all the same.

It wasn't even that Emmy liked the violence, she was just naturally good at it, and she liked doing things she was good at. She had also found she had a certain gift for taking things that weren't hers. There was also an even bigger thrill in taking something, and then putting it back to see if the owner would notice it had been taken at all. Most times they didn't, but Emmy had so far limited herself to just "borrowing" things in the Possible home for a few hours or so. If she was ever caught, she would just explain that she wanted to be like Kimmie, which was true enough. Kimmie only ever stole things to protect them, or get them back from real thieves, but Emmy suspected she got much the same thrill in doing it.

But for all Kimmie's rules and restrictions, she was, in Emmy's opinion, a terrific big sister. If something got broken and no one knew how, she invariably blamed her brothers. She never made Emmy wear dresses or frilly things, and had promised to never make Emmy wear anything that she wouldn't wear herself. She was never too busy to play, talk, or wrestle over the last jellybean. At times, it almost seemed like Kimmie didn't have a life outside of the things they did together. Emmy hadn't understood how that could be, and kept asking until Kimmie admitted to having given up a job to spend more time with her. She wouldn't say what the job was, only that it wasn't worth the cost of Emmy growing up alone.

Not that Emmy could grow up alone anymore. Between Kimmie's family, Ron, Monique, and even Wade (the week before he'd interrupted her favorite cartoon), Emmy barely ever had a moment to herself. About the only time she was even close to being alone was on the rare nights when Kimmie fell asleep before she did.

It was still a little odd, having family and friends to call her own. But Kimmie made everything better, not by purposely doing anything, but just by being there. Emmy thought she understood why that voice had been so unwilling to let Kimmie go. But since she didn't hear the voice anymore, she had to assume that Kimmie did. Though, if Kimmie did, she never mentioned it, or at least never made it obvious anymore. Anyway, Emmy had a feeling it wouldn't have bothered her quite so much now.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Kimmie calling her.

"Emmy, c'mon in! Lunchtime!"

Emmy sat up on the grass, starting to brush the grass stains off of her feet, and finally deciding aganst it. She was reaching for her socks and shoes when something moved on the edge of her field of vision. Looking over her shoulder, she was only a little startled to see what looked like three rubber balls rolling around near the curb. Her gaze instantly locked on the green one, which seemed a bit larger and more threatening than the other two, for some reason.

"Hey, little sis! Lunch!" Kimmie called again.

Emmy barely even heard her. As she watched, the green ball slammed into the blue one, sending it hurtling out into the street...right in the path of a black SUV. Emmy wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a tiny scream right before the blue ball vanished under the vehicle.

"Emmy! Are you listening to me?"

She wasn't, really. Emmy was entirely focused on the green ball, which had rolled into the street and was now bouncing gleefully on the flattened blue ball, while the red ball looked on in what had to be both shame and amusement.

"Emmy, what are you doing?" Kimmie asked in her ear, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "Didn't you hear me?"

Emmy pointed at the street. "Does that seem...odd to you at all?" she asked, starting to wonder if maybe only she could see the balls.

"Not really, that's just Agent Bruner. He's ex-CIA. Drives by the house every month, as a favor to me. I told him the black SUV was too obvious, but he loves that car. Good eye, though."

Emmy decided it was best not to mention the balls at all, since Kimmie obviously didn't see them. "Oh. Okay. What's for lunch?"

"Meatloaf, in the shape of a brain, and colored green. And I'd like to point out that that is all YOUR fault, missy."

"So long as it's green," Emmy reasoned, getting to her feet.

Kimmie smiled faintly and plucked Emmy from the ground, giving her a big hug. "Love you," she murmured into the girl's dark hair.

Emmy made a face. "You don't have to do that three times a day, you know."

"I know," Kimmie replied, giving her another squeeze.

Emmy rolled her eyes, but knew better to complain. She'd had Tim and Jim explain her same sex cooties theory five times already, but Kimmie never really seemed to take the hint. And the hugs weren't really annoying, so much as they temporarily cut off air supply and limited vision. "Okay, love you, too. Down, please."

Kimmie reluctantly put Emmy down, but quickly latched onto her hand and dragged her toward the house. "Hurry. I bet the only thing worse than green brainloaf is cold, green brainloaf, and Mom glaring at us the whole time we choke it down."

Emmy looked over her shoulder one last time. The green ball had tired of bouncing, and was now simply rolling back and forth over the blue one. Emmy managed to catch a few strands of conversation as she neared the house.

"My dear, I hardly think this is necessary."

"Stuff it, Crawford! He deserves this and you know it! How does it feel, huh, Long? HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE ROADKILL, YOU SORRY SACK OF DIVINE BLUNDER!"

"HELP MEEE!" Long wailed.

"I'm afraid I can't, Long. She IS our co-worker now. Our superiors said her experience with the project would be vital to its continued success. You'll just have to survive any punishment she deals you and keep doing your job. Besides, in all fairness, you hit her first."

"CRAWFORD, YOU TRAITOR!" Long screamed.

"Hardly. It's not as if I helped her run you over."

"DIE, BLUE BOY!"

"He can't, actually. That's half the fun."

"CRAWFORD! AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Long cried pitifully.

"Don't quit on me yet, Long! That was just for me! We're doing this four more times! Once for each of my brothers that you DIDN'T manage to kill! That WAS the point, right? SAY IT!"

"I'M SORRY! I SUCK! I'LL NEVER TOUCH A ROCK AGAIN!"

"LOUDER! AND SMILE WHEN YOU SCREAM IT!"

Emmy blinked and tugged on Kimmie's hand. "Hey. They have...vengeance angels, right?"

Kimmie stopped and looked at her. "Some people think so. Why?"

"Well...if they do, and it's their job...they can't get kicked out for doing it well, right?"

"I wouldn't think so."

"What if they swore while they did it?"

"Any particular reason for all these questions?" Kimmie asked.

"Nope," Emmy said at once with a straight face, barely. "Just curious."

The End.

* * *

Endnotes: Didn't realize it until I was proofreading, but Crushinator is that big, supposedly female robot with the deep voice that appeared in two or three episodes of Futurama. I could've used another name, but honestly I couldn't think of anything else.

Reviews!

Blackfire 18

Heh. I was one of those weirdo kids who loved to eat broccoli and...asparagus. (I guess there's a Shego in all of us!) It is so fun to have Kim Possible pissed off! It takes lil' miss perfect off her pedestal once in a while and gives her back some of her humanity. I LOVE how there was a conversation between older Shego and kid Shego...(if that's how I can so put it) It was so entertaining to read! It was also such a brilliant idea to add in that little arrow of green and black jelly beans; a nice added touch. Update!

_Interesting fact: the filename for this series is LilShego. Probably because of how it started, I think. I can't ever recall Shego eating anything on the show, so I have no real idea what her diet is like. But I know kids can be insistent about what they eat. Initially, I intended for the alluded to jellybean sifting to be going on while Kim tried to write that letter to Shego, with frequent interruptions from Emmy. Left it out, for some reason._


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